Follow the Dim Light
by Night Doktor
Summary: Naruto was born with the eyes and hair of the Uzumaki, however left and neglected by the Third for longer than he intended. When a furious Uzumaki turns up to the gates wielding a doujutsu not seen since before the Shodai, what havoc will be wrought? Slow burn NaruSasu. Fuuinjutsu!Naruto, AU, Intelligent!Naruto. Rated M due to some gore, and Kurama's potty mouth.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Author's Note:** I do not own Naruto, if I did, well, let's not go on about how Madara wouldn't be so well... Hitting them for a... wait for it... six? Yes I had to go there!

This is my first Naruto based fanfiction, and I'm going with putting this prologue up to get a feel for how you guys like it so far and for some suggestions on plot, etc. This is relatively unedited, so fire away with corrections!

11/2/14: Edited to include paragraph spacing, and to alter the last paragraph.

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><p><strong>Konoha: Red Light District<strong>

Follow the dimly lit, cobbled alleyway, down to the left, cross the intersection with dusty half-light intersecting to give a brief reprieve; then into the darkness again, as sanity disappears, as fleeting as the half-light of a temporary decision a few scant moments ago.

Crimson red hair, obscured by dirt, grime and the filth of abuse flew in the hurried wind created by its owner, a young street urchin, homeless and desperate at the tender age of six.  
>The boy ran for all that his unshaped, directionless life was worth. Feet scrabbling for precious purchase on the cold, slippery stone beneath him, as caring as the elderly bystanders that glared, wishing death with their gazes, as he urgently scanned ahead with his own violet eyes.<p>

The reason, you ask? The cause of the sudden rush for life? Our dear boy was fleeing frantically from his certain death by a collection of the lowest of the low: the perpetual drunks, the deranged, the simple and capable alike, however joined by the most vexing of them all: shinobi. It was from this cluster of scum and villainy that the young redhead scrabbled around the corner, however this time his feet did not find purchase, but instead found thin air as his small body found the unforgiving cobble.

Suddenly, on the wavering edges of his consciousness, he felt a presence coming towards him, nay, not the collective hive that threatened to overwhelm his own tiny spark, but a roar, powerful and strong like the fire from an open forge, bellowing in complete rage.  
>"<strong>Katon: Karyū Endan!<strong>" (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) The voice bellowed, echoing endlessly, however drowned out completely by the crushing roar that the fire technique created, as the dragon-like flame hungrily surged forth, cremating the mob live, in an instant.

The darkness waxed again, leaving the boy to sweet, beautiful unconsciousness.

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><p><strong>Konoha: Hospital<strong>

The smell came first. Devoid of feeling, caring, race or creed. It smelled of a sterile desire.  
><em>'Great.<em>' The redhead thought. '_What did I- Oh._' He didn't need to remember what happened in order for him to arrive at the hospital once more, this time with less bandages and scrapes, he idly noted.  
>As if at the edges of his mind, he felt an odd buzzing, and then as time passed, he felt a strong presence, and the more he tried to follow it, the more it felt familiar, as if-<p>

The door abruptly opened, causing the boy to sit bolt upright, fists clutching the sheets, so hard his knuckles were white, refusing to face the man who had reduced his attackers to ashes, lest he do the same to him, as well. Who knew, he might've been on the wrong end of one of the various retaliatory pranks he'd pulled.  
>"Are you feeling better, young man?" The voice queried, not unkindly, though hesitant. It carried none of the rage from the previous night. This caused the redhead to turn, albeit slowly.<br>"You're the man from last night." He thought out loud.  
>In response, a soft, hearty chuckle came from the man, whom he now turned fully to scrutinise. Below average height, around 5" 8' or so, with spiky, short grey hair that included the respectable goatee, however wearing a full red kimono, tied with a white sash, and covered with a white haori. It was these things that slowly made the boy's eyes widen in recognition.<p>

"What're you doing here?" He demanded in shock. What would the Hokage want with him? Was it the prank against the grocery store that kicked him out?  
>"Now, no need for that." He said, slowly walking over. "May I join you?" He requested, indicating the end of the bed.<br>The redhead numbly nodded, still unsure of where this was going, fearing a disciplinary talk from the Hokage, who simply looked him in his violet eyes, and asked, "Naruto-kun, do you know who I am?"

The now named Naruto furrowed his brows at the man. "How do you know my name? All I have is that name, the name the orphanage hag threw at me along with others as she kicked me out. You're the Hokage, of course I know who _you are_."  
>The man's eyes steeled over briefly, before kindly looking at Naruto.<br>"My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the Yondaime Hokage entrusted me to look after you, but it's a fine job I've done so far, isn't it? Now while I can't do much, as I'm running an entire village, I can do a fair few things to make your life easier. You'll now be living in an apartment of your very own, where someone will take care of your basic needs. And although you're far too young to learn, well, I have no choice. Naruto-kun, do you want to become a shinobi?"  
>Naruto's violet eyes widened in shock, but slowly calm, then determination, and lastly a fiery passion crossed his features.<p>

"Yes, I want to prove that I'm better than I'm seen as. That I'm my own person. Eventually, I want to find my family, if they're around anymore. Actually…" Naruto trailed off. "Do you know who my parents are, Hokage-sama?" He queried, his eyes watching the Hokage intently, unconsciously leaking some chakra.  
>Hiruzen's eyes widened, although this was for a different reason. <em>This chakra, it's almost pure Uzumaki!<em>  
>"Naruto-kun, there's something I must deal with, however I'll be back shortly. Just please remain here until I get back, okay? I promise I'll be back as soon as I can." The Sandaime reassured the young boy, and upon getting a timid nod, he whirled around on the balls of his feet and vanished in a silent, seal-less shunshin.<p>

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><p><strong>Konoha: Gates<strong>

Meanwhile, a tenacious youth was wreaking havoc at the gates of Konoha, restraining some shinobi, sending others flying, unleashing fire, water and wind jutsu everywhere. The trouble was, all of this he was accomplishing with efficient ease, often whipping through handseals at a blur, and other times slapping his hands on the ground, only to imprison groups of shinobi within the black spidery fuuinjutsu that spewed forth from the contact points.

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen landed before the youth, and levelled his full KI at him, accompanied with a glare that could send armies quivering back to whence they came.  
>This young man instead returned his glare with a doujutsu he hadn't seen since the time of the Shodai Hokage, and accompanied with other traits that he was sure had died out.<p>

Shoulder-length, relatively unruly dark crimson red hair bound back in a leather tie, with two jaw-length bangs framed his rather angular, unmarked face, however it was the shining green eyes with a pattern eerily similar, yet crucially different to the Sharingan that unnerved him so. The pupil was slitted, and the tomoe were inverted, however as there were three, he assumed it to be fully matured, as it would be in an Uchiha counterpart. _The Ryuuringan, predecessor to the modern doujutsu we have today.  
><em>  
>Clearing his throat and straightening his posture, Hiruzen assessed the boy further. <em>He can form seal matrixes flawlessly with just his chakra and extremely quickly too. His fuuinjutsu skills must be far above even Jiraiya's abilities for him to even use them properly with that method. He's avoided the projectiles of an entire squadron of shinobi ranging from chuunin to jounin rather easily, but that could be because of his doujutsu. Although his chakra levels, damn, they're close to mine! I'm immediately assuming him to be a high A-rank threat. However, why is he even here? Could he really be-?<em>

"I am the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Who are you, and why are you attacking our village? Answer, on pain of death!" He ordered tersely.  
>The young man seemed to assess him in kind. <em>Sandaime Hokage. Said to have known all Fire and Earth ninjutsu in the village, known as 'the Professor' and the second 'God of Shinobi', uses Fire and Earth elements in conjunction, capable of solo performing collaboration ninjutsu. Wielder of the monkey summoning contract; high S-rank threat.<em>

"My name is Uzumaki Rikuto. I am a travelling warrior monk from the far northern Fire temple. I demand to know why I was immediately attacked upon nearing the village and attempted to be brought into subjugation!" The now identified Rikuto snapped, his eyes blazing.  
>Upon hearing of Rikuto's surname, however, Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Ah, so you really are an Uzumaki then, if that show of chakra abuse and fuuinjutsu wasn't to be believed. I wasn't informed either of your existence nor coming here, although if that messenger bird that just arrived is anything to go by, I'll soon get my answers. Stand down and come with me, young man." Hiruzen said, turning his back and walking back into the village.<p>

Rikuto, however, took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, and deactivated his doujutsu, leaving clear violet eyes in place of the piercing green.  
>Clapping his hands together and emitting a short, staccato series of chakra pulses, he walked away, not bothering to witness his seal arrays breaking down and fading as a result.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Tell Me About Yourself

**Author's Note:** I'm just going to say that this disclaimer applies to ALL CHAPTERS AND CONTENT of this story: I do not claim to own Naruto, aside from wanting some credit for the Uzumaki style sealing techniques I use here.

I tried to push out some more content for you all this time around, with a longer chapter. Don't expect me to update so frequently! At the moment I'm designing a website, working as a waiter and a kitchen hand, amongst other things.

However, that aside, I appreciate all feedback, aside from mindless whining. That, I'll firmly ignore. Enjoy the chapter.

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><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, heralded as the third 'God of Shinobi', stared down an impassive, yet visibly irritated Uzumaki shinobi, but to little effect.<br>"Young man, start by telling me about yourself. Everything that you know." Hiruzen gestured to the seat in front of his desk, which the redhead took without a word.  
>After being seated, he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.<br>"It would be easier to show you, Hokage-dono. If I may?" He asked, without opening his eyes.  
>"Do you intend to use genjutsu?" Hiruzen asked with an arched eyebrow. Upon seeing an affirmative nod, Hiruzen rubbed his temples. Allowing the shinobi to cast a genjutsu on him would be foolhardy to the extreme, but given his glaringly obvious Uzumaki heritage, and the equally obvious chakra reserves this boy was boasting, the best he could possibly do was perhaps a B-rank genjutsu, which Hiruzen was sure he could flick off.<p>

"I give you permission to use genjutsu to illustrate your story, and only for that sole purpose. Any other action will be taken as an offensive action and will be retaliated against as such."  
>The redhead nodded slowly, and opened his eyes, to reveal the Ryuuringan, spinning lazily.<p>

Immediately, Hiruzen felt his surroundings change dramatically, making him reach for his concealed kunai holster, but halted his reaction when he realised that the young Uzumaki was still standing before him, although his eyes no longer showed his doujutsu.  
>"Welcome to my genjutsu, Hokage-dono. Here, I control everything, although I'm still working on the time delay. Currently, every 1 second that passes in the real world is 5 seconds in here. I aim to eliminate that restriction. However, I digress. My name is Uzumaki Rikuto, cousin to Uzumaki Kushina, and Clan Heir. My doujutsu… It was inherited from several generations ago, however what caused it to manifest, no one knows. I am one of what was 2 children, of whom both inherited the <em>Ryuuringan<em>. Before I get ahead of myself, I must explain the doujutsu. It has four stages; similar to the Sharingan, and is the same until the third tomoe, which serves as the 'Mangekyo', so to speak. The fourth… I have no idea what it is, but my eyes feel incomplete, so I must assume that there is a final stage that I have yet to unlock. As for what my brother has to do with this… The third tomoe brings a whole new level of visual prowess; including a unique style of the Uchiha counterpart; Tsukuyomi, which I am currently using, albeit incredibly boosting the power and speed of existing abilities. It also enables me to see tenketsu, although it takes a few seconds for this to work, due to my eyes not being the specialised Byakugan, and as such I lack all other abilities of the doujutsu. As with the Mangekyou Sharingan, every use of my eyes would result in deterioration of my eyesight. When we were both very small, my brother contracted a fatal disease, and soon perished. Fearing the worst, they removed his eyes shortly before they became infected, and transplanted them into my own body, without me being told until I'd unlocked the Mangekyou, which I did by being informed of this. I believed that it was somehow my fault, and thus suffered the mental breakdown that triggered my third stage. Once this had happened, I was soon knocked unconscious and my original eyes re-transplanted. My brother's eyes are safely kept in a secure location to this day." Rikuto closed his eyes, and in a rare show of emotion thus far, his features softened in grief. "I often wonder what he would have been like. We were identical twins, thus ensuring his eyes would be a perfect match. It seems even the Uzumaki have a hunger for power, even if misguided by good intentions."

Hiruzen took a moment to process this information. He knew all about the Uchiha doujutsu, thanks to Itachi detailing it in full, a scant few days ago, ahead of a coup d'état that was soon to be planned by his clan.  
>But this information was a whole new kettle of fish. The origins of the doujutsu were a complete mystery, as he was a pure-blooded Uzumaki, and even Clan Heir! Wait-<p>

"Did you say 'clan heir' earlier, Rikuto-kun?" Hiruzen asked sharply.  
>The Uzumaki opened his eyes in confusion. "Yes, I did. Why?"<br>"Because here in Konoha, Uzumaki Mito was responsible for the Uzumaki Clan having a seat here on the Shinobi Council. How old are you, if I may ask?" Hiruzen explained.  
>Rikuto thought for a moment. "I was born around 10 years after Kushina, Hokage-dono. My birth was not necessarily celebrated, due to the clan's near extinction. I would estimate that I am around 20 years old. Do you intend for me to take up this seat? If so, I want to set up the clan once more. Actually…" The redhead stopped for a moment, and his eyes seemed to take on an ethereal glow.<br>"I can feel the potent chakra of an Uzumaki, rather close by. This is good, the clan is set to be reunited once more. It is my dream, Hokage-dono, to assemble my brethren and provide a safe haven from persecution, abuse and being targeted for our abilities." Rikuto's eyes narrowed during his speech, but soon he relaxed and took on a powerful aura towards the end, where his dream was laid out.

"Then once I process your shinobi forms, I'll approve your Uzumaki relations and assign you as Clan Head. We have our next meeting…" He trailed off, flicking through some paperwork to find a slim black book. Flipping through the Meeting Register, he found a page, read it and snapped it shut.  
>"Our next meeting is in three days' time. That's more than enough to get you started. Actually, Rikuto-kun, would you mind giving me an overview of your abilities?" Hiruzen inclined his head to the side.<br>Rikuto smirked. "Oh, you can't find that out the hard way, can you? Not getting too cramped over there, jiji?" The last comment caused a tick mark to appear on the Sandaime's forehead, before he made a snap decision.  
>"Alright you little shit. Training Ground 35, right now!" He barked, appearing in a shunshin behind Rikuto in his battle armour, leaving his Hokage robe to flutter and settle on his seat.<br>"Wha-?" Rikuto blurted, before being whisked away to the training ground in Hiruzen's shunshin.

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><p>Now at Training Ground 35, a wide, open clearing with some forested areas and a modest lake, all in all a generic training ground, save for the fact that it was bordered with chakra suppressant, barrier and reabsorption seals. Rikuto glanced at them and whistled.<br>"Not bad at all." He remarked, before turning to a still grumpy Third.  
>"So, you wanna go? Let's do this the easy way! Category #1: Taijutsu!" Rikuto cawed, before flying at the Third in a flurry of kicks and well-timed jabs, aimed at softer points on the body, like the armpits, stomach, thighs and the like.<br>Pivoting his weight on his left leg, and flooding it with chakra, he shot his leg into a kick, billowing with chakra that took the form of ethereal flame, which the Sandaime saw coming and ducked, kicking out at Rikuto's midsection, causing him to switch legs, re-route his augmenting chakra to his new axe kick, which shattered the ground underneath, leaving a modest crater where the Sandaime had been crouching in a kick.  
>Appearing from behind in a silent shunshin, the Third engaged Rikuto in a blur of hand-to-hand combat, which after a while, resulted in Rikuto being on the defensive, and getting worse. Deciding that he'd shown enough, he leapt back and caught his breath.<p>

"Not too shabby for an 'old man', huh, you little pipsqueak? I'm the God of Shinobi!" He growled, eyeing the redhead suspiciously.  
>Before he could say any more, three ANBU agents had their tantō blades at his jugular, spine and stomach.<br>The Hokage silently applauded them for their speed of attack, but cursed them for their poor response time. "ANBU, stand down. I'm personally assessing the last known survivor of the Uzumaki clan outside of Konohagakure. Move aside." He barked, and the agents disappeared.

"Where were we? Oh, that's right. Category #2: Genjutsu!" He smiled, and it split his face, then his head, and suddenly the rift tore his body apart, resulting in a emerald green dragon, easily the size of the Kyuubi, that spat out a liquid green jet of fire at the Third, who dispelled the impressive illusion with a violent snap of chakra, only to find the impulsive redhead to be gone.

'_Up, left, right, behind… Below!_' He thought, immediately jumping up, only to be impaled through the leg as he tried to twist mid-air by a glowing green chakra chain.  
><em>'So he has the same ability as Kushina-chan then. Makes sense, seeing as they are related.<em>'  
>Whipping through a couple of hand seals in a blur, he roared, "<strong>Katon: Karyū Endan!<strong>" (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) and levelled the area with near white-hot flames, showing his mastery of the Fire Release.

The Third blinked. They were standing still, perfectly as they were, albeit with Rikuto's Ryuuringan eyes slowly coming out of their spin.  
>"Did you like that, Hokage-dono? My doujutsu, when active, refines my chakra control to the point where double-layered genjutsu are possible. That was my only creation, at this point, however the chakra chains, well, yes I can use them." Rikuto offhandedly explained, but then grinned. For those that knew Uzumaki, it was terrifying. A shit eating grin that promised doom and destruction.<p>

"Category #3: Ninjutsu!" Rikuto cried with glee, holding the Horse seal, and stopped to call out the name of his technique: "**Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!**" (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation) and released a great torrent of flame from his mouth, while guiding it with a half Ram seal beside his mouth.  
>When the flames had cleared, however, there was nothing but scorched earth and lumps of ash where there were trees had stood in the wake of his S-rank Fire Release.<p>

"That's coming out of your first paycheck, you idiot." Hiruzen growled as he stepped out from a relatively unharmed tree.  
>"Oh? Is that so? <strong>Raiton: Jibashi!<strong>" (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder) Rikuto hissed, whipping through hand seals in a moment and then with a wave of his hand, sent several powerful shocks of lightning at the Third, who whipped up a **Doton: Doryuuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall) in time to take the attack, although it crumbled due to the elemental advantage that Rikuto's technique held. Not to waste time, Hiruzen then fired off his own offense: again whipping through handseals in a blur he cried, "**Doton: Doryuudan!**" (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet) and no sooner had he completed that technique, did he fly through more seals, and called out, "**Katon: Karyuudan!**" (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) to ignite the Earth Dragon, resulting in a molten dragon roaring at a stunned Rikuto.  
>'<em>He can perform collaboration ninjutsu on his own of this level? I knew he could do solo collaboration techniques, but not of this power!<em>' Rikuto frantically thought. '_Should I use this? I suppose he'd find out about it anyway._'

Now starting through a chain of specific handseals to the Uzumaki Clan, Rikuto murmured the names of the handseals as he went, stopping with the Serpent seal.  
>"<strong>Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu-Ryuu: Tentō Torigaa Kekkai!<strong>" (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Reverse Trigger Barrier) Rikuto cried, slapping both hands on the ground, and inky black fuuinjutsu formulae spewed forth from the points of contact, branching out into two points that converged, overlapped and stopped, with the Uzumaki spiral in the middle.

When the collaboration ninjutsu approached the barrier, it did something strange. Amid a sudden flurry of flames, light and incredible chakra presence, a thin membrane of shimmering light appeared out of the ground, sustained by the two prongs of the seal matrix that Rikuto created on the ground, absorbing the ninjutsu that Hiruzen had thrown at him.

Hiruzen stood, grounded with shock. Here, this 20 year old young man had just performed one of the most feared techniques the Uzumaki had; a technique capable of redirecting even up to S-rank ninjutsu, simply by absorbing the chakra, analysing the construct, and then using the chakra of the jutsu to recreate it, this time encoded with the chakra signature of the seal master. The rightfully feared Reverse Trigger Barrier, only activated by foreign ninjutsu, able to be placed and left as a trap mechanism, hence the name.

Rikuto, whilst panting, now clapped his hands together, hissing, "**Kai!**" (Release) and the seal complied, spewing out the jutsu right back at Hiruzen, who had to dodge in a shunshin to avoid it. The chakra for the technique spent, the seal simply faded away, leaving a panting, tired Uzumaki.  
>"There's… There's a reason that Sensei forbid me from using that technique unless I really had to… Wow, it's incredible, to tax even <em>my<em> reserves like that…" He panted, taking in valuable oxygen, and already feeling his reserves recover.  
>"I… guess that covers the last Category, Category #4: Fuuinjutsu." Rikuto muttered, standing up and dusting off his outfit, which consisted of black shinobi sandals, black ANBU-style pants that had green motifs around the ankles, a dagger strapped to each thigh, two pouches on his lower back, a dark green undershirt that was obscured by a black muscle shirt with light chainmail through it, and a black haori, with green slits adorning the base, and the Uzumaki spiral in white on his back. Behind this, however, was also a wakizashi strapped to his back.<p>

Rikuto turned to a passive Hiruzen, who spoke up. "You did marvellous, Rikuto-kun. I'm awarding you with the rank of Tokubetsu Jōnin, as you will be on probation for six months and monitored closely. Any inferior rank would be an insult."

Rikuto nodded in understanding, and then bowed at the waist. "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama. My services are the village's now."  
>Hiruzen smiled at that, and motioned for him to follow. "Come, Rikuto-kun. You're not getting out of your own paperwork, now."<br>Rikuto, however just groaned. "The monks used to get me to do most of their paperwork, purely because of my sealing skills, and thus perfect handwriting. I hate paperwork!" He whined petulantly, disappearing in a shunshin in time with the Hokage.

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><p>"Wait, so tell me that again? The <em>civilians<em> can do that? With all due respect Hokage-sama, you're an idiot." Rikuto frowned, with his arms crossed crankily.  
>"No one side of the council should hold this much power. This is because of the finances that you had to direct from their coffers, isn't it? You're the Hokage, man! Well, at least now my paperwork is through, and as of the next council meeting I'm the next Clan Head, you'll have a fair bit more political power, at least. My Clan was very influential, no? Being the wife of the Shodai would not have harmed Mito's seat." Rikuto murmured, eyeing the set of documents that initiated him into the village system, registered him as a tokubetsu jōnin, and then as the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan.<br>"That reminds me, Hokage-sama. That chakra signature I sensed earlier of the Uzumaki. Explain him to me now, and don't leave anything out. This I can demand, as Clan Head." Rikuto stared Hiruzen in the eye, firm.

The latter sighed, and activated the room's privacy seals, evident by the now slightly muffled sounds.  
>"The following information is classified as an S-rank secret, and only being disclosed to you by clan rights. Even though Uzumaki Naruto is not formally in your clan yet according to the village law, that will be processed momentarily so the delay is of no consequence.<br>He was born on the 10th of October, six years ago, to Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, making him your 3rd cousin or so. During childbirth, a masked man, who we believe to be a rogue Uchiha, broke through the barrier, three teams of ANBU, murdered my dear wife, Biwako and her assistant, broke the seal and threatened his life so that Minato would save him, giving him the opportunity to take control of the Kyuubi with Sharingan-induced genjutsu. He then proceeded to attack the village with it, and in the end, Minato broke his control over the beast, but ended up having to use Naruto as a container for the bijuu sealing. I watched as the Kyuubi, in a last ditch effort at freedom, tried to impale the baby on his claw, but Minato and Kushina jumped in the way, saving Naruto. Minato then sealed the Yin half of the fox within himself, and within Naruto, the Yang half. Shortly, they both died, leaving Naruto the orphaned Sandaime Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Due to his obvious Uzumaki heritage, I had to keep him in a low profile, purely for his safety, and that I couldn't take care of him personally, due to my duties as Hokage. The civilians see him as the Kyuubi in human form, probably not helped by his red hair. I trust you wish to take him in?" Hiruzen slowly explained, lighting and smoking his pipe as relief.

"Of course I fucking want to! That hero has been living a life of hell because you want "to protect him" and because "of your duties as Hokage", really? What fucking shit are you on? Do you realise what danger you're putting the villagers in? Or, far more importantly, Naruto? He's six, you old coot! As Clan Head, I request that you call a council meeting today! I don't care, I'm going to find my cousin that you neglected, you asshole!" Rikuto swore, rising as quickly as his temper, leaking veritable amounts of green chakra, swirling around him like a shroud, and unconsciously activating his Ryuuringan, which was spinning furiously.  
>All that, gone in a moment as he disappeared in a shunshin, following his sensory abilities, honing in on Naruto's chakra, which was in a building that Rikuto identified as the hospital.<p>

Not caring for etiquette, he barged in the front door, and strode over to the receptionist. "Hello, tokubetsu jōnin Uzumaki Rikuto here, I wish to see Uzumaki Naruto."  
>The receptionist's features immediately darkened upon hearing his name. "Why would you want to see the de-" The woman's voice stopped immediately after Rikuto levelled his KI right at her.<br>"Want to finish that sentence, you ignorant slut? If you do, the Hokage is going to have to clean your remains off the wall behind you. Now. Where. Is. He?" Rikuto ground out in staccato, slowly rising the level of his KI until the woman nearly passed out.  
>"L- Le- Level 3, r- room 345." She managed, before she did just that and her head hit the desk with a dull <em>thud<em>.  
>Rikuto stormed off, cursing loudly and flipping off those who stared at him.<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto was having a good deal of trouble working out what got Hokage-sama so flustered. When people deigned to speak to him, and when they spoke about Sandaime-sama, they spoke of him as fearless and composed. What he had seen earlier was surprise and he had <em>felt<em> the Third's touch of fear.  
>And now, there was a monstrous presence headed his way. He could feel the powerful anger swirling and raging beneath a tenuous stretch of control. Upon closer inspection in his mind, he could feel that the anger wasn't directed at him, but rather at everything around the presence. But, it also felt very, very familiar, like he knew this person…<br>Suddenly, the presence drew near, threw open the door and…

Rikuto reached the door marked 4-345 and threw it open to reveal his cousin, sitting in the bed and looking demurely frightened at the sudden intrusion, but didn't startle.  
>As he regarded his cousin, his features softened and he whispered, "Uzumaki Naruto… I've finally found my clan!" He wept, and held Naruto close to him.<p>

'_My clan… He's just like me, his hair, his eyes, and his chakra… His chakra is so powerful, yet so warm and soft at the same time… This…. Is this family..?_' Naruto mused, before returning the hug.


	3. Chapter 3: We're a Clan now!

**Author's Note:** See Disclaimer on Chapter 2.

This chapter involves some bonding time with Naruto and Rikuto, and the dreaded Council Meeting. I'm sort of modelling Rikuto's character after my own, so he's fairly easy to write. Naruto, however, I'm still not sure on. I want him to have his exuberance from canon, but still give him the ability to concentrate and not have the attention span of a goldfish. Whilst he inherited many Uzumaki traits in this story, I want him to have still inherited traits from his father, namely his intellect and playful sides too.

This one is a bit shorter, but the next one will be significantly longer if my brewing ideas have anything to do with it. I think starting from next chapter my updates will be far less frequent, but you'll get more bang for your buck- I mean, wait. Still works, right?

As always, fire away with any suggestions, criticism or just any feedback you want to give me. Enjoy the chapter!

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><p>After sensing that Naruto was feeling quite awkward, Rikuto released him and sat back further on the bed, not that his cousin's scrawny frame took up much space.<p>

At this thought, he frowned. '_He shouldn't be nearly this malnourished! Not even a regular set of meals, I'll bet. Well, there's time to fix that, he's still young._'

"Well, I think I'd better introduce myself, yeah? I got a little caught up in the moment!" Rikuto chuckled sheepishly. "My name is Uzumaki Rikuto, and I'm your mother's cousin, and so yours, too."

At this, Naruto's eyes widened in shock.  
>"Wait, you know my mother? What was she like? What about my father? Do I have a family? Did they love me?" The normally shy boy was abundant with questions that seemed to well and flow from deep within himself, the part that he resolutely ignored as it obviously was useless to him.<p>

Rikuto's eyes softened and he looked down. "I can tell you about your mother, but until you can protect yourself, it's best not to say who your father was. Yes, your parents loved you dearly, and I met your mother once, she was the most boisterous, lively person I've ever met. She was also the most caring person I've met, too. She was a wonderful person. Now, before you ask anything else…" Rikuto trailed off, forming a long chain of hand seals, before getting up and placing his hand on the wall, issuing several pulses of seal matrixes, forming a complex privacy barrier. He then pulled a scroll and a kunai from his pouches.  
>"Naruto-kun, do you know about the basic and most common use of fuuinjutsu?" Rikuto asked, looking at Naruto intently.<p>

Quivering a little under the intense scrutiny, he nodded slowly. "Yeah, you can seal items in scrolls and carry them around with you."  
>Apparently satisfied, he then touched the scroll and issued forth a basic sealing array from the touch. "When you're as advanced as I am, you can create seals just with your chakra, in an instant."<br>Naruto looked on in awe. "Mister… Why are you showing me this?" He queried, suddenly unsure of where this was going.  
>Rikuto chuckled. "Patience." He chastised, moving to place the kunai over the sealing array, and then with a pulse of chakra, the kunai disappeared within the array.<p>

"Now, Naruto-kun, is the scroll now a kunai? Is it metal, or sharp in any way?" Rikuto stared at Naruto, obviously expecting an equally obvious answer.  
>The boy cocked his head to the side. "Of course not. It's just sealed inside." He replied, as if stating that the sky was blue.<br>"What do you know of the Kyuubi, then?" Rikuto followed, not stopping with the questions, seemingly eager to push to a point.  
>Here, Naruto frowned. "It was killed by the Yondaime, six years ago, on my birthday. I think it has more than what is told, though. Why else does everyone hate me? I don't know what it is that I've even done!" He clutched at the bed sheets so hard his knuckles went white. A drop of moisture stained the sheet he was grasping so hard, and the next thing he could feel was Rikuto's warm embrace again.<p>

"Naruto-kun, this is going to be hard to hear, but look at that scroll. The bijuu, such as the Kyuubi, are coalesced forms of massive amounts of chakra, which bear consciousness and personalities, and as such, cannot be "killed" by conventional means. But humanity found another way to harness them; they sealed them, at first inside grown people, but it became apparent that only a baby's unformed chakra coils could grow with the strain of the bijuu sealed within them. On the 10th of October, six years ago, your parents sacrificed their own lives not only to protect you, but to seal him within a newborn baby; but not any baby; your mother would not stand the thought of using another parent's child without offering up her own, against her firm will that you would not suffer the same way that she did." Rikuto broke the news, murmuring to the boy, who shook with shock and threatening tears.

"It's okay, Naruto. Cry, let it out. You've done amazingly well so far, but now I'm here, and there's no way in hell am I letting you be on your own any longer. I promise, and I never break my word to anyone." Rikuto said firmly.  
>Naruto's eyes shot wide, and grabbed onto Rikuto's midsection, finally releasing the pent up torrent of emotions that he had deemed worthless and had supressed them until now.<p>

After several minutes, and having cried himself hoarse, Naruto fell into a blissful sleep, leaving Rikuto to lay him down and cover him before he padded out of the room, leaving him to rest. The next couple of days were going to be big.

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><p>Uzumaki Rikuto and Sarutobi Hiruzen walked side by side to the Konohagakure Council Chambers, not needing to share a word.<br>Hiruzen had tried to listen in on their conversation, but was unfortunately blocked by Rikuto's privacy seal, and had assumed that the boy now knew what he held and at least who one of his parents were.  
>Rikuto kept his expression neutral, but walked slightly slower than Hiruzen, allowing the elder man to lead the way, although he could feel the tense aura rolling off him in droves, causing him to smile slightly. '<em>He has no idea what I've told the boy so far. This meeting will be interesting, say the least.<em>' Rikuto frowned inwardly.

Rikuto entered the council room, to find three tables; one on the left for the Shinobi Council, whom had already seated themselves; the right side being for the Civilian Council, who looked at Rikuto with unmasked curiosity; and finally an elevated table for the Hokage and three seats for the Elders.  
>Hiruzen took his place, and opened the meeting.<br>"Council of Konohagakure. This meeting has been called by the newest Clan Head of Konoha; Uzumaki Rikuto, of the Uzumaki Clan, hailing from the once Uzushiogakure. He has the floor."  
>Immediately, the Civilian side of the council burst out into raucous shouting and questioning, whilst the Shinobi side of the council sat in shock, however the older members had somewhat expected this, seeing Rikuto's inherent Uzumaki traits.<br>Getting rather irritated, Rikuto released his hold over his chakra, instantly dumping the room with an incredibly oppressive aura, weighing them all down with imperial force, and most importantly, silenced the Civilian side immediately, most by passing out. Satisfied, Rikuto reigned in his chakra and tethered it once more, relieving the room of his pressure.

Danzō, however, was floorstruck. '_This young man, such powerful presence! He is most definitely pure-blooded Uzumaki, only Mito could level a room with just her chakra like this!_'  
>As he began to contemplate machinations to possibly bring this man into his overall plans and under his control, Rikuto began his address.<p>

"Honourable Council, I present myself as named: Uzumaki Rikuto. As of this moment, I am registered Konohagakure shinobi; Tokubetsu Jōnin and Clan Head of the Uzumaki." He bowed, and allowing a moment for this information to settle, he spoke again before he could be interrupted.  
>"If Hokage-sama could sponsor and valiate my claim to Clan Head?"<p>

Hiruzen watched in restrained awe. '_He didn't unleash his chakra like this before when we sparred! That was just like being around Kushina when she was furious!_'  
>"I, as Sandaime Hokage, sponsor and validate Rikuto-san's claim to the Clan Head position of the now reinstated Uzumaki Clan. You may take the previously ceremonial seat." Hiruzen gestured to the empty seat that resided next to the similarly empty Senju seat, and next to the also empty Uchiha seat.<p>

Once he had reached the seat, he did not sit down, instead he cleared his throat, indicating he wished to keep speaking. Hiruzen nodded, and Rikuto took a deep breath, ready to unleash his chakra once more should he need to.  
>"Council, as Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan, I now lay claim to guardianship of one Uzumaki Naruto. I have verified his bloodline through his chakra and physical characteristics." Rikuto intoned, now crossing his arms, as if awaiting an onslaught, which he received.<br>An uproar issued from both sides of the council. The Civilians were screaming about the 'demon' having a Clan, and the Shinobi side demanded to know why they hadn't been informed of this sooner.

At the same moment, both Hiruzen and Rikuto unleashed their respective chakra; they both bore down with such force that the entire Civilian side slumped into unconsciousness and the distinctive smell of urine wafted over soon after, and ones such as Inuzuka Tsume dropped to their seats under the pressure of two such powerful energies.  
>Seeing that their goal had been accomplished, both shinobi reigned in their chakra and sat down.<p>

"All those for the legal adoption of Uzumaki Naruto into the Uzumaki Clan under Uzumaki Rikuto?" Hiruzen asked, and all hands from the Shinobi side were raised, including, surprisingly Danzō.  
>"All those against?"<br>Koharu and Homura raised their hands.  
>"And those abstained?" Rikuto then raised his hand, as due from the member who raised the motion.<br>"As those votes for outweigh the votes against even barely, the motion is passed. Effective immediately Uzumaki Naruto is under the guardianship of Uzumaki Rikuto." Hiruzen gloated, finally having pushed the council into having the boy adopted without having shown favouritism.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. There is one more motion that I wish to propose, but, as it now strictly involves my clan, which is a recognised Shinobi Clan, I humbly request that the Civilian Side is not present." Rikuto requested, glancing at the Civilian side before needlessly imploring the Hokage with a look.

The Civilian Side was speechless. Here comes this boy, and he dares to level his chakra at them not once, but twice! And now he wants them out of the chamber?! Oh, he had marked himself, alright!  
>Hiruzen was still internally gloating. Oh, he liked this young man, that was for sure.<br>"As Hokage, and pursuant to the Code, I now ask that the Civilian Council vacate the chambers immediately. Thank you for attending, honourable council members." He kept his voice and mannerisms controlled, but skilled sensors such as Rikuto could feel the underlying sense of victory over the exiting council members.

"Now," the Hokage turned to a standing Rikuto. "What was it that you needed those buffoons out of here for?" He asked, allowing a smirk at the reactions of the Shinobi council.  
>Rikuto cleared his throat, this was going to be a risky venture. "Council members, I recognise that Uzumaki Naruto was the child of one Uzumaki Kushina. Her assets are those of the Uzumaki Clan, and as how Clan Head, I move to seize control of said assets, including the residence of Uzumaki Kushina, to serve as a temporary Clan Compound and new residence for myself and Uzumaki Naruto. Hokage-sama, if you will?" He gestured to the man to start a vote.<p>

"If I may?" Danzō had been suspiciously silent throughout the exchange, but the fact that he had decided to speak set some on edge.  
>Upon receiving a nod from Hiruzen, he continued. "As the declared Clan Head of the Uzumaki, you now already have control of all recognised Uzumaki Clan assets, such as the residence of Uzumaki Kushina. As such," he said, quickly drawing up an order, folding it and sealing it, he handed the sealed document to Rikuto before continuing, "This document will allow you to collect the deeds to the property, although I doubt there are even keys. As a blood relative, either yours or your charge's blood will grant you access."<br>Rikuto bowed. "Thankyou, Elder Danzō. I will take care of the matters after the council has been concluded."  
>Hiruzen saw the opportunity and took it. "If there are no other matters to be risen?" He cast a look around the room before banging the gavel. "This meeting is concluded. Thank you for attending."<p>

After collecting the deeds from the Konoha Archive Office, Rikuto proceeded to go to the hospital to retrieve Naruto.  
>As he entered, the same secretary was working, so he sent her withering glare before continuing on to his cousin's room.<p>

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><p>Naruto had been awake for some time now, just thinking. He knew he'd fallen asleep while crying for the first time in a very long time. It had been his cousin Rikuto that had allowed him to feel again. Speaking of him, he could feel his tell-tale monstrous yet benign chakra signature approaching from a distance. He smiled, perhaps he was here to take him out of the hospital? He hated it there, the smell and the stark aura of duty, and nothing more given to him.<p>

Opening the door to Naruto's room, he was greeted with a megawatt smile and a boy rushing over to him and wrapping his skinny arms around his legs.  
>"Rikuto-niisan!" Naruto cried, releasing him from the hug, but looking down sheepishly. "That's okay if I can call you that, right? Are we going out of here? It smells bad and the doctors don't like me!" Naruto complained, crossing his arms whilst pouting.<br>Rikuto just laughed, much to Naruto's chagrin. "Hey, don't laugh, it's bad in here!" He grumbled, looking away.  
>Rikuto ruffled Naruto's own mop of blood red hair, and grabbed the boy, to put him on his shoulders. "Hold on tight, kiddo." He warned, before walking out the door, but ducking to avoid hitting Naruto's head on the doorframe.<p>

"So I went to the Council today, and we're a Clan now, Naruto! I also got your mother's house, so we can live there now." He told the boy, looking up to see another grin.  
>"Really?! I won't have to live in that grubby apartment anymore? That's awesome, -ttebayo'!" He made a fist and pumped the air, meanwhile Rikuto nearly facepalmed. '<em>He just <em>had _to inherit Kushina-neechan's verbal tic, didn't he? Oh man…_' He groaned internally, dreading if he somehow caught onto it.  
>After filling out the forms to discharge Naruto from the hospital as his now legal guardian, they walked out of the building, only for Rikuto to halt in stride all of a sudden, making poor Naruto fold over his head.<br>"Hey! What'cha stop for, niisan?" He demanded. Rikuto chuckled sheepishly in response.  
>"I, uhh, may have forgotten to ask the Archive staff where your mother's house was…" Rikuto sighed exasperatedly. "Hey kiddo, hold on. We're going to Shunshin."<br>"Oh, okay, what's tha-?"


	4. Chapter 4: Bonding and the Royal Summons

**Author's Note:** In this chapter, we've got some more character bonding time, and some good ol' sealing and fighting. Can't get enough of that, right? There's also a 2 year timeskip, I didn't want to burden you all with repetitive eating, shitting, pissing, sealing, sleeping routines. I'll probably feature some omake segments from either Naruto's antics or Rikuto's C-ranks.

Again, I don't own the goddamn series, but really, why do I bother saying this? If I did own it, I wouldn't be posting _fanfiction_, it would be _fiction_, for fuck's sake.

Okay, story time!

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><p>"You bastard! Why did you do that?" Naruto swore, his head reeling sickeningly, clutching onto Rikuto's own head for dear life.<p>

"I did warn you, squirt. And language! Ah, right." He reminded himself, after whacking Naruto across the head, and knocking on the Hokage's door. Hearing a terse "Enter." He did as such, opening the doors and poking his head in demurely.  
>"Hokage-sama, I forgot to ask about my new residence…" He chuckled, and ignored Naruto's muttering of "Idiot niisan."<br>Hiruzen just laughed at the Uzumaki's misfortune. "Ah, Rikuto-kun. You're more Uzumaki than you realise! The now Uzumaki Clan Compound is two blocks South of Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, and two streets before the Hyuuga Clan Compounds. That should help you, Rikuto-kun. I'm afraid I'll have to get back to my paperwork, though. Off with you two!" Hiruzen made a mock shooing gesture, and the Uzumaki cousins took the hint and Rikuto vanished once more in a Shunshin, landing in the street where there was a fairly large mansion with several smaller residences dotted around it. However the compound was surrounded by a stone perimeter, with complex seals etched and glowing with self-sustaining chakra, around the residence.

"Hmm. I wonder if my blood will work…" Rikuto mused out loud, cutting his thumb on his teeth, and swiping his bloodied digit across the blood seal.  
>It glowed green, and the matrix that spanned the entrance stopped glowing, allowing them entrance. "Huh, so I must be related directly to Mito, then. That's quite amazing." He mused, now walking up to the main house, and awed at its size.<br>Gently placing Naruto back on the ground so that he could explore on his own, which he began by running off and shouting when he found a large room or something, Rikuto just headed on upstairs, marvelling at how the place was still very opulently furnished, yet there were no personal belongings anywhere. Finally he reached his destination – the master bedroom.  
>Slowly entering the room, almost being reverent – after all, this was last used by a true-blooded Uzumaki like himself – he padded around, through the large bedroom, poked his head into the modest walk-in wardrobe, and out onto the balcony which overlooked the training fields, which in the setting sun, looked beautiful. Sighing contently, he closed the doors to the bedroom on his way out, and went off to find Naruto, only to walk in on him spreadeagled on the bed, grinning from ear to ear.<br>"Say, nii-san, this is my bedroom, right?" He asked, sitting up with the most innocent questioning look Rikuto had ever seen. Leaning against the doorway, he couldn't help but smile.  
>"Of course. You picked this one, so it's yours, okay? In the next couple of weeks we'll get your own furniture, once I get some income from doing missions and the like."<p>

"Wait, you're a ninja? Since when?!" Naruto demanded, crawling forward on the bed on all fours, violet eyes wide.  
>Rikuto chuckled, vanishing and scaring Naruto when he put his hand on his shoulder, now sitting on the bed beside him.<br>"Whoa! Can you teach me how to do that? Now that we're living together, why don't you teach me fuuinjutsu too?" Naruto rattled off, clearly getting very excited at the prospect of someone teaching him.  
>Rikuto's eyes hardened. "I refuse to teach you any of the ninja arts until you start the academy, but before then, I don't see why I can't teach you sealing. In fact, I started when I was a year younger than you are. But, given your drive to learn, it won't harm your development too much…" He mused to himself.<p>

"Uzumaki Naruto. The art of sealing is a very, very dangerous art. You must wield it with precision, skill and with the determination of an unwavering hand, even if an explosive tag should blow in your vicinity, your focus will not waver. This, I will teach you. In time, I will introduce you to the arts of the shinobi, including the weapon that is your chakra itself. It's not going to be easy, and at times you won't see any improvement or will want to give up." Naruto's jaw clenched, but he remained silent.  
>Satisfied, Rikuto continued. "With the Uzumaki blood in your veins, you will become a target, and I will make you strong enough to protect yourself. Until then, I'll protect you with my life, as you are one of my clansmen. Are you ready?"<p>

Naruto's eyes gleamed, and he grinned wildly. "You bet, nii-san!"

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><p>Over the past week, Rikuto would leave out basic calligraphy lessons for Naruto to work on at his leisure, while he himself was out on missions, starting with some simple C-ranks with a chūnin partner that was simply tasked to document his behaviours.<br>At the end of the week, Rikuto was satisfied with Naruto's handwriting, and stepped him up to the next exercise, which was writing out several combinations of common kanji with time limits.

This challenge Naruto took up with vigour. One afternoon, whilst he was in the middle of one of these, he felt a presence approach, one that he was very familiar with. Over the past week, he had also discovered what Rikuto called "**Mind's Eye of the Kagura**", an Uzumaki ability that was quite rare, although Rikuto also had it himself. It was a very high calibre sensing ability, and he was working on it. Using this, he felt Rikuto's chakra signature; it felt rough, larger than life, yet dextrous, and supple. Underneath those things, however, Naruto could feel the deep compassion that Rikuto held, and the strength that it gave him.  
>Smiling and turning around to the open window, Naruto saw him crouching on the sill, regarding him owlishly.<p>

"You got distracted by the Mind's Eye again, didn't you?" Rikuto sighed, landing on the floor. His outfit hadn't changed much, except he now wore a Konoha hitae-ate on his right arm, attached to a black cloth.  
>Naruto slumped. "I know! It's just… I'm so aware of everything, and it's so… It feels so good to just feel everything around me, I lose track! I can't be writing these and ignoring things around me, it's like trying to look two ways at once!" He ranted, pulling at his hair. "I don't get it!"<p>

Rikuto looked on, concerned. He himself had had the same problem, being both blessed and cursed by the Mind's Eye of the Kagura ability. While remaining so connected with the flow of life around him, it was incredibly difficult to maintain the level of focus that fuuinjutsu required.

"Naruto, I have a solution, one that I used myself, when I was your age. You see, I had the exact same problem that you do. I'm going to try something, and see if it works." Rikuto clapped his hands together, and sitting cross-legged across from Naruto, he ran through a few handseals before slapping a hand to the floor, and a chakra suppressant seal array spewed forth, and surrounded them both.  
>Instantly, Naruto couldn't feel his chakra nearly as much as before, and he felt… Quiet, like he couldn't feel- He couldn't feel everything. He looked up, smiling at Rikuto.<br>"I figured as much. It seems that I'm going to have to show you the first steps to shinobi training after all; chakra control. Once you can control your own chakra, you can suppress your Mind's Eye ability momentarily in order to write out seals. Once you're done, you can then reactivate it. We're one of very few Uzumaki who have this ability running passively. Many members who have this ability have to consciously activate it and sustain it to use it."

"But," he continued, "that's not a bad thing at all. It means that you'll likely fare a lot better as a shinobi, simply because people cannot hide from you." Rikuto grinned. "It's great for playing mind-games. I'm a little sadistic when it comes to that." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.  
>"Anyway, it's time to get you trained, squirt!" He ruffled Naruto's hair and smiled at his indignant shout, he dispelled the sealing array. Ignoring Naruto's gasp as his sensing returned, he led him outside for some chakra training.<p>

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><p><strong><span>Time Skip: 2 years later.<span>**

Uzumaki Naruto sat slumped over his desk at the back of the Academy classroom, trying not to fall asleep, as he absently drew storage seal matrixes all over the back of his completed test papers. They wouldn't work, as they weren't made from blood-infused ink, nor were they chakra constructs, like Rikuto-niisan's seals were.  
>Speaking of him, he was now a full jōnin, having passed his probationary period and had trained two teams of fresh genin, most of which now were chūnin shinobi, save for two that needed to retake the exams next time they were on in a non-hostile village. Rikuto had also unlocked another ability of the Uzumaki, one that the Hokage had said his mother possessed: chakra chains. Or, more to speak the ability to mold chakra so dense that it became tangible. With this, Rikuto could create constructs and use them in battle, proving a large help to earn his jōnin title.<p>

Naruto himself hadn't been a slouch; he was now a level 4 seal master out of 10, and had mastered the B-rank kinjutsu, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**, (Shadow Clone Technique) as a replacement for the standard **Bunshin no Jutsu** (You Should Be Able to Remember This no Jutsu) that Rikuto had taught him. He also had a very impressive control over his chakra for someone his age and chakra reserves, being able to shut off his Mind's Eye of the Kagura for a record of 5 minutes and 43 seconds, enough to write out a B-rank seal, according to Rikuto.  
>His clothing choice had also changed; now opting to dress like his cousin, he wore black shinobi sandals, simple black shinobi pants with orange motifs, and a simple orange T-shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol in black and white. Being an academy student and not being allowed to carry weapons, he couldn't mimic his role model any further.<br>He was cut off from his musing by a rather loud shout. "Naruto! What was one of the most dangerous jutsu used by the Nidaime Hokage?"  
>Naruto looked up blearily, his red hair in a disarray and eyes unfocused. "Wha…" He mumbled, before Iruka used his Big Head technique to startle him awake further.<br>"I- Uhh, **Suiton: Suishōha**!" Naruto remembered quite clearly, as Rikuto had given him a demonstration after Naruto had reported what he'd learnt that day.  
>"Hmph. Don't sleep in class, it's disrespectful!" Iruka chastised, moving on to collecting papers and passing them off to be marked, just as the bell rang, and the students cleared the room faster than the Inuzuka dogs released first thing in the morning.<p>

Rikuto was, as often as he could, waiting outside for the young redhead to emerge. Grinning when he caught sight of his beloved cousin, they fistbumped and at the moment of contact, Rikuto used his Shunshin to take them back to the Uzumaki Compound.  
>There, much to Naruto's confusion, was the Hokage and a man he hadn't met, but had a fair idea that he should know who he was; he had long white spiky hair, wore a horned hitae-ate that had a kanji for 'oil' on it, red lines running from underneath his eyes, and wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which he wore mesh armour that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, geta, a red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, and a large scroll hanging from his lower back.<br>After assessing this man's appearance, Naruto knew just who this was, but it only served to further his confusion. 'What is someone like one of the three Sannin doing here?'

Rikuto bowed, and nudged Naruto to do the same. "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama. Welcome to the Uzumaki Compound. Please follow us in, I'll get some leftover cake and we'll talk over drinks." Rikuto motioned towards the door.  
>Once the tea had been served and cake had been devoured by Naruto, Rikuto cleared his throat.<br>"So, what brings you here, Jiraiya-sama? Certainly not visiting someone that you have obligations to, no?" Rikuto's tone was sharp, and his glare deadlier.  
>Jiraiya, for his part, remained silent, but marvelled at the KI that this young man was leaking. His full intent would be impressive for someone his age, judging by the potency of his unintentional leak.<br>Naruto's hands were shaking, and a bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck. He'd only felt Rikuto-niisan this angry once, it was the day that he'd adopted him into his own clan, and saved him from the village's clutches.  
>Rikuto noticed this, and clamped a hold on his leaking KI, putting a comforting arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Hey, sorry kiddo. Didn't mean to frighten you like that."<br>Comforted by the hug, and his soft words, Naruto's shaking stopped, and he smiled at him in response. "You idiot." He mumbled, pouting with his arms crossed.

"Jokes aside, we are here for a very good reason. Daimyo-sama has heard of your existence. He requests that you present yourself and your charge here to him so that he may meet the next Clan Head." Hiruzen explained, reaching towards his pipe before Rikuto cleared his throat. "And I request that you don't smoke within the building, Hokage-sama."  
>Pausing for a moment, he put it away within his robes, as Jiraiya spoke up for the first time.<p>

"He's basically dragging you to the palace to make a show out of you. This is a huge problem; it'll put you on the spotlight for the world to see, in the form of gossip, and the perpetual threat of court spies. If anything sensei has told me about your abilities, I have utmost faith in your ability to protect Naruto, but should it come to that, I doubt you'll care too much about collateral damage, being an Uzumaki and all."  
>Rikuto held up both hands in mock surrender. "Guilty as charged. Anyone who so much as points a blade in his general direction will have said blade stabbed through their asses."<p>

Jiraiya smiled. "Well then, that's comforting, at least. But that's not why I'm here, per se. I'm here as your official escort. Sensei here is pulling the big guns purely because you two are currently the last known Uzumaki, and the last alive that bear the blood so true. Thus, Konoha cannot afford to risk your bloodline, with both of you being males and all. That, my friend, is another matter that you'll have to take up in your own time." Jiraiya suddenly sported a lecherous grin. "And do tell me about it all!" He smiled dreamily, before being brought harshly back to reality by an irate Hokage.

"Act the part, Jiraiya-kun! Ah, Rikuto-kun, he's summoned the both of you in two weeks' time, which is plenty of time to get stocked, and verse yourself on politics. As a Clan Head of Konohagakure, it is not unseemly at all for the Daimyo to have direct conversation with you, on occasions such as this. You had best know what you're up to." Hiruzen warned, before standing and straightening his robes.

"Actually, Jiraiya-sama, I must ask that we spar, outside. It would be a great opportunity for me to dish out some anger that I'm carefully controlling. I won't be able to do much, but you'll get where I'm coming from, given that your bones aren't creaking too much today." Rikuto sighed, crossing his arms.  
>Naruto was about to pipe up and confirm what Rikuto was saying, before he sat right back down at the level of KI that Jiraiya was emitting.<br>Rikuto opened his eyes to see a kunai aimed right between his eyes. "Wanna finish that, brat? Outside!" Jiraiya growled, grabbing Rikuto by the collar and disappearing outside via Shunshin.

Hiruzen sighed resignedly. "Well, Naruto-kun, we'd better follow them to make sure they don't wreck the place. Your cousin sure does know how to get a fight out of people, doesn't he?"  
>Naruto laughed and nodded, and widened his eyes upon seeing Hiruzen reach for his shoulder. "You're not gunna-"<p>

"Ack! Surprise Shunshins are a bad time, I thought I already whined about this!" Naruto complained petulantly, but soon ducked under a flaming glob of oil that would have fried him.  
>Over to where Rikuto was "venting" on Jiraiya for abandoning Naruto to the village, the latter was getting more and more surprised at how well the redhead was faring.<br>His taijutsu was simply superb; his style was quick, fluid and delivered sharp, painful hits and kicks to softer areas on the body. But having trained with Minato in a similar style, he knew how to counter and as such Rikuto was having trouble getting any hits on the Sannin.  
>Deciding that taijutsu was a dead end, he jumped back, and ran though several handseals, and surged his chakra so much it cracked the ground, before shouting: "<strong>Suiton: Baku Suishōha!<strong>" (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave) and expelling incredible amounts of water from his mouth, before the water rushed at Jiraiya in waves at high speeds, threatening to flatten the Sannin if he didn't move or protect himself.  
>Jiraiya also blurred through seals, before creating a <strong>Doton: Doryūheki<strong> to block the wave, although the wall cracked in some places, but held.

The aftermath of the technique was an artificial pool, held in by the array of barrier seals and suppressants that defined the training field.  
>Not seeing Rikuto around anywhere, Jiraiya looked down through the water he was standing on, only to frown in surprise, for underneath him on the ground, was a modest restraining seal, made from glowing green chakra.<br>"So you can create chakra construct seals, huh? Pretty advanced stuff, brat!" Jiraiya called out. "But I'm not a seal master for nothing!" He cawed, before throwing down a seal tag that broke him out of the restraining seal.

"You call yourself a seal master, but really, you have to use paper and ink? Lame!" Came Rikuto's voice, and when he turned, so did his stomach.

Rikuto came flying at Jiraiya, having used the low-level seal as a distraction to power up his new technique, unique to the Uzumaki; dense chakra constructs. His entire right arm was now coated in dense, green chakra, that was even now hardening, to form a clawed gauntlet on his hand, armoured plates on his forearm and upper arm, and a horned plate on his shoulder.

Entering a swift battle of reflexes, Rikuto switched to a stance that favoured his left side, and used his right in a mixture of slashes, thrusts, punches and swatting away Jiraiya's attacks, with the deadliness of a blade, and the safety of armour, but the nimbleness of a bare arm.  
>Jiraiya, unused to tactics like this from the young man, spent the next few minutes taking hits on his arms and stomach from Rikuto's chakra gauntleted arm, whilst marvelling at the difficulty of the technique he was using.<br>Now tired of being on the defensive, he stopped holding back, and sent the Uzumaki into the barrier, who slumped and groaned, letting his chakra gauntlet fade.

"Wow, brat. Chakra is incredibly difficult, near on impossible to control once it leaves the body. I look forward to what you can accomplish once you train more with it." Jiraiya said, offering a hand to Rikuto, who simply got up and went to walk right past him, but paused.  
>"Don't think that because we had a spar and you handed out some paltry compliments that I'm going to ignore the fact that you ignored your godson, my clansman and cousin for six years, while he was abused physically, emotionally and spiritually. You can shove that hand up your ass." Rikuto snarled, before walking back to Hiruzen and Naruto.<p>

"Naruto, go inside and keep working on your barrier exercises. I want a stable barrier up by the time we leave for the Daimyo's Palace, you hear me?" Rikuto shooed Naruto off towards the mansion.  
>"Sure, Rikuto-nii!" He chirped, running off.<p>

"Do you really think that having this sort of tension before I'm protecting you is such a good idea, brat?" Jiraiya asked, leaning against a nearby tree.  
>"I think that it's important that you know exactly what I think of you. I don't need your opinions on the tension that I've created by venting my anger towards you, which I rightfully have, as Naruto's Clan Head, legal guardian and cousin. You're on the mission simply as a deterrent. I won't even have to lift a finger, dear bodyguard." Rikuto spat, not even moving to face Jiraiya, but turning towards the Hokage.<br>"Hokage-sama. I trust that you make your leave when you wish. I encourage you to explore the grounds, there are some wonderful spots for meditation, if you want a break from the paperwork. You are here arranging an important diplomatic escort mission, no?" Rikuto bowed, before vanishing in a shunshin.

"He's very bitter, isn't he?" Jiraiya remarked, turning to his mentor. "What's with that? I thought the Uzumaki were a rather rowdy, positive bunch, like Naruto is."  
>Hiruzen sighed, and began walking. "Walk with me, Jiraiya-kun. Rikuto-kun has had a very rough beginning and has been a shinobi as long as he can remember. Shouldering the responsibility of Clan Head, and the Clan itself amongst other things, has led him to be very protective of the Uzumaki, and anything he has worked hard towards. He is very bitter towards the both of us, Jiraiya-kun. Me, for allowing him to be neglected, but has relented somewhat after I've made amends and assisted with Naruto-kun's upbringing. As for you, I know your reasons, but he doesn't. He thinks that you chose to ignore and neglect Naruto-kun out of selfishness, and yes, it's partially the reason, I know it is. He views Naruto-kun like a little brother, and will stop at nothing to protect him. That will apply to any other clansman that he finds, I fear. I fear so because of what they'll be like when within a kilometre radius of each other." Hiruzen had a laugh.<p>

"But Jiraiya-kun, give him time. Perhaps this trip is a good opportunity to not only foster some positive relations with Naruto-kun, but to ease the negativity that Rikuto-kun holds towards you as well." Hiruzen looked into the pond that they had approached, and at the numerous koi fish that darted around beneath the glassy surface.  
>"I'm old, Jiraiya-kun. Don't make my mistake, and leave negativity alone purely because you're afraid of the ramifications that come from messing with it."<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: I Will Protect You

**Author's Note:** Well I think this is my longest chapter yet. I'm working on making the chapters go on as I get more ideas. I think leaving it to a weekly or more update schedule may help me with this.

Another thing, I wanted to thank you all for your support so far! Every review, favourite and/or follow is great for me to keep writing this.

Again, I don't goddamn own any of this, apart from the Uzumaki style jutsu. I just want a little credit, yo?

* * *

><p>The two weeks' wait for the journey passed quickly for Naruto, who'd made great progress with basic barrier seals, almost as if instinctively understanding them, much to Rikuto's glowing pleasure, finally having someone who understood just how amazing barrier seals were, and much to Naruto's confusion, spent many hours ranting about how he'd used them.<p>

On the other hand, Rikuto had finally stabilised his chakra armour, but insisted that it wasn't yet battle-ready. He'd begun actively participating in the Council Meetings, becoming a vocal supporter of the Hokage and proving a valuable force in stabilising the balance of power on the Village Council; holding the Uzumaki seat came with a lot of political clout.

Suddenly, a very loud and very unwelcome blaring roused Rikuto from his sleep. Blearily opening his unfocused eyes, he located the source of the intrusion on his slumber, his mortal enemy, the alarm clock. Slamming a chakra reinforced fist down onto the poor little unit, it simply stopped its awful racket.  
>As he slowly came to, he remembered the reinforcement seals he'd placed on it the night after he'd arrived in the Uzumaki Mansion, after he'd smashed one the next morning.<p>

"Fucking seal reinforced fucking alarm clocks going of for fucking missions and shit…" Rikuto grumbled darkly, fumbling his way into the bathroom for a shower to hopefully wake him up.

A good 20 minutes later found Rikuto descending the stairs into the living area, to find Naruto happily crunching on cereal, already dressed and ready to go.  
>"Morning, Rikuto-nii!" He chirped, muffled through a mouthful of cereal.<p>

Throwing a dead wave and walking to the coffee machine, Naruto wasn't offended, being used to pre-coffee or pre-adrenaline Rikuto.

"So, Naruto. You ready for this? We'll be travelling at shinobi speeds, but you've mastered all of the chakra control exercises I've thrown at you so far, so you'll be fine as far as that goes. The minute you get tired, you say something, alright? That's an order. I'll carry you from there. We can't afford to seem anything but bright and bushy tailed; it's the Daimyo we're presenting ourselves to here." Rikuto mumbled, gingerly nursing his coffee as he slowly came to life.

"Sure, nii-san. So, when do we leave? Will we see the castle? Will there be princesses, and we'll save 'em?" Naruto bounced up and down eagerly. "Let's go!" He cried, only to be caught by the back of his shirt by Rikuto, then dragged back to the table.

"Sit down, will ya? You haven't even finished your cereal." Rikuto sighed, palming his face. "Basically what we're doing, is going to see the Daimyo, and getting his formal endorsement to settle in Hi no Kuni, or more specifically, Konoha. With his approval, we'll be on equal grounds with the other shinobi clans, and in a much better situation. On the other hand, it'll raise our profile way too high. We'll be targeted simply because of the hair we have, and the blood that runs through our veins." Rikuto sighed, glancing at Naruto who seemed to have sobered to the situation, and began to look worried.

Rikuto reached across and ruffled the young boy's hair, much to the latter's ire. "Don't touch the do, nii-san! It's messy enough as it is!" He whined.  
>"Naruto, you know I'll protect you with everything I have, right?" He asked, looking directly at him.<br>Naruto just nodded, to which Rikuto smiled. "Good. Go on squirt, get your stuff, we're leaving for the Hokage's Office." Rikuto grabbed his coffee mug and giving it a quick wash, dumped it in the drying rack.

* * *

><p>Less than 30 seconds later, Naruto came barrelling down the stairs, only for his face to fall in dread as Rikuto's arms awaited him at the base.<br>"No no no no no you'areeennnntttt-" Naruto yelled, only to vanish with Rikuto in a distortion of space.

"Ugh, when will you _not_ do that? I swear it wouldn't be so bad if I could at least have some _notice_, sheesh!" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting, earning the laughter of the Hokage and some restricted chuckling from Jiraiya.

Realising where they were, Naruto straightened and gave the Hokage a loose salute. "Hokage-jiji!" He chirped, completely stumping Jiraiya and negating the previous salute entirely.

"Well, Jiraiya, Uzumaki Rikuto, Uzumaki Naruto, are you ready to embark on the A-rank mission to the Royal Palace?" Hiruzen asked, now serious and meaning business.  
>"A-rank, jiji?" Naruto asked, clearly confused, if his cocked head and narrowed brows weren't anything to go by. "Isn't this just an escort mission, sorta?" He elaborated, tilting his head further.<p>

"You'll likely encounter fairly dangerous shinobi whilst on this mission, Naruto-kun, simply because they're hunting you. I trust Rikuto-kun has been over this with you?" Hiruzen looked to Rikuto, and upon receiving a nod in the affirmative, continued.

"As for that reason, I've assigned this as an A-rank mission. Uzumaki Naruto, you are to stay with Uzumaki Rikuto at all times, and to follow his orders. Uzumaki Rikuto, I'm assigning you the leader of this mission, as it is for your Clan that you do this. That said, I encourage you to take counsel from Jiraiya. He's been at this longer than you've been alive." Hiruzen winked, and had to suppress a laugh at the indignant look on Jiraiya's face.

"Now off with you! Get this crap over with so that I can get you back to fixing our seals, you three! Yes Naruto-kun, when Rikuto-kun here says you're ready, I'll put you to work, so you can earn some of your own money, how'd you like that?" Hiruzen asked, glancing at Rikuto who gave Naruto an encouraging nod.

"Sure, Hokage-jiji!" He pumped the air. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>It had been several hours since the small group had left Konoha, and Naruto was engrossed in a scroll regarding preservative properties of seals, and was completely oblivious to the outside world save for miraculously navigating the tree branches, leaving Jiraiya and Rikuto in an awkward silence.<p>

"Jiraiya-dono, I trust you know about the unintended pitstop that I have to make?" Rikuto yawned, subtly tapping his leg three times.  
>Understanding the message, he smirked. <em>'So the kid has some idea, after all.'<em>

After grabbing Naruto and slapping the ground with his other hand to lock him in a barrier, Rikuto vanished in a whirl of speed, only to appear on the other side of a tree several metres away, hanging from a branch from his feet, and Ryuuringan eyes glowing a menacing green, behind a crouched assassin who upon feeling his barely concealed presence, turned around and froze in pure fear.

"**Tsukuyomi**."

_The man stood alone, on a plane of white and a grey 'sky' that stretched off infinitely in all directions._

_"Welcome, to my world where I control everything. Time, space, perception of all things, including, most importantly… Pain." Rikuto hissed, phasing into view, Ryuuringan eyes spinning furiously.  
>"You made the foolish mistake of coming after either myself or my clansman. For that, I doubt you'll last long here."<em>

_Rikuto placed a hand on the hilt that protruded from behind his shoulder, and in a flash of green, he'd drawn it, jabbed out both of the assassin's eyes, and slashed across his stomach, leaving the man to collapse in agony, whilst roaring out his pain, gritting his teeth through the blood now pouring down his face, and the intense searing pain that came from his stomach leaking it's acids into his body._

_Then, came a slow whisper. "Retrieve your comrades, and leave this place, if they're still alive. Do so and I will spare you."_

_And suddenly, the man found himself yet again in a plane of white and the grey 'sky' that stretched off infinitely in all directions._

_"Welcome, to my world where I control everything. Time, space, perception of all things, including, most importantly… Pain." Rikuto hissed, phasing into view, Ryuuringan eyes spinning furiously.  
>"You made the foolish mistake of coming after either myself or my clansman. For that, I doubt you'll last long here."<em>

_Rikuto again placed a hand on the hilt that protruded from behind his shoulder, and in a flash of green, he'd drawn it, jabbed out both of the assassin's eyes, and slashed across his stomach, leaving the man to collapse in agony, whilst roaring out his pain, gritting his teeth through the blood now pouring down his face, and the intense searing pain that came from his stomach leaking it's acids into his body._

_Then, came a slow whisper that repeated itself with a ghastly echo. "Retrieve your comrades, and leave this place, if they're still alive. Do so and I will spare you."_

_Yet again, the scene reset itself, and played out endlessly and as the man collapsed at the resetting of the scene, Rikuto's voice came through, "That was just a second. I hope you enjoy the next 15 seconds."_

Rikuto's eyes slowed their spinning, and the dōjutsu faded from his eyes, and he slunk back behind the tree, leaving the man to gasp and claw at the tree, making weak movements towards his back pouch, eyes growing heavier by the second. At long last, he brought the whistle to his lips, and with his last breath before falling into unconsciousness, he blew.

Turning around to heed the emergency flee-on-sound whistle was the third assassin's mistake, meeting the furious eyes of Rikuto, and the ethereal chakra blade that shot from his hand, right through between his eyes and out the back of his head. As he dissipated the blade, he cursed himself.

Naruto was on his butt, shaking and staring at Rikuto as if he was Death incarnate. He flinched and went to back away as Rikuto broke the barrier, but stopped when he felt Rikuto's arms around him. Releasing his fear once he felt Rikuto's chakra, he sobbed, and gripped onto Rikuto like his life depended on it. Simply trusting that Jiraiya had dealt with the last enemy, Rikuto reigned in his chakra, and instead exuded it in calming waves, hoping to soothe the frightened redhead in his grasp.

After some moments, Naruto calmed down and sat cross-legged in front of Rikuto, with Jiraiya standing off to the side, seeing as this was a personal moment, and also fearing Rikuto would unleash those eyes on him, too. Naturally, after simply killing his assassin, he arrived to see how Rikuto was faring, only to see those utterly _frightening_ eyes, piercing green, and filled with fury, not to mention the results of the man who took it head on.  
>Shaking off the memory, he turned away to make some notes about adjusting the measurements in his book…<p>

"Listen, Naruto. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with that so soon… But I'm also not sorry at all." Naruto's eyes widened at this, and he looked at Rikuto, confused.

"I'm not sorry because you've almost had your first kill, in terms of shock factor. Do you want to protect Konoha, the Uzumaki and the Will of Fire? If so, then it will become necessary to kill. I don't like doing it, but if _anyone_, and I mean _anyone_ threatens my family, my village, or anything that I swear to protect… I will kill them without hesitation. Do you know why, Naruto? Because I love my family, my new village and I do not go back on my word. I do this, because it's how I was raised to live. The Uzumaki commit to their promises, no matter what." Rikuto made a fist, and held it out to Naruto, who returned the gesture.

"What you saw then was how serious I get when someone threatens my family and my village. It was scary, wasn't it? I reacted much the same as you did, when my sensei did the same thing, protecting me. But that's a story for another time." Rikuto smiled wanly at Naruto, while standing up. He noticed Naruto was still a bit shaky, so he wordlessly knelt, and placed his hands behind his back, offering for a ride.

Naruto couldn't bring himself to refuse on principle of his pride. He was truly shaken to the core; he'd felt Rikuto-nii's KI before, back when he'd first met Jiraiya, but this was nothing like what he'd experienced back then. This was pure, unadulterated KI, and it terrified him. He felt when Rikuto used his eyes on the first man; he could feel the utter hopelessness and terror, and he saw and felt the utter cold fury in the redheaded man when he sent a chakra sword straight through the second enemy's head.

It was paralysing fear that gripped him and made him irrationally fear his cousin when he came to free him from the barrier, and he cursed. He'd have to get a hold of himself, and become as strong as Rikuto-nii! '_I swear! And Uzumaki Clan members commit to their promises, no matter what!'_

Steeling himself to his newfound resolve, Naruto smiled and gladly climbed onto Rikuto, gripping him and his warm, protective chakra, soon falling asleep.

Rikuto, feeling Naruto's chakra stabilise and then seemingly bolster, smiled. He turned to Jiraiya, to find the man looking forward, lost in thought. Deciding now was the time to leave, he called Jiraiya with a quick whisper of his name and leapt to the trees.

A couple of hours later, Jiraiya felt that they were safe, and so he turned a questioning look to Rikuto, who nodded, and crouched to a stop on a tree branch, with his eyes closed. After a few moments, Rikuto opened his eyes and stood, still carrying a blissfully asleep Naruto.

"We're alone, and there's not another human around for at least 10 kilometres." He murmured, motioning to the base of the tree which had sufficient room for three sleeping bags and a small fire.

"Down there looks good." He left no room for argument, simply stepping off the branch and strolling down the trunk, and jumping off the last couple of metres. The landing startled Naruto awake, who gripped Rikuto tightly until he figured out that he was still with the two men.

"We're going to stop here for the night, Naruto. Come on, get your camping gear out so you can sleep. Here, I'll help you." Rikuto crouched in front of Naruto, pulling out his supply scroll to unseal his belongings for him.

As this was happening, Jiraiya, who'd already set up his equipment, sat and watched pensively. '_The young man really does care a lot for the brat. Already I can see the results from some of the training he's started him on, fūinjutsu being the beginning… But even in his tired state, I can see the kid keeping an eye on his surroundings.'_ As Jiraiya mused, he'd realised that Naruto had already fallen asleep, and Rikuto was meditating.

"Finally snap out of your daydream there, _bodyguard_? You're not much use if you're not alert. Relying on my sensory abilities will get you nowhere." Rikuto pointedly remarked, before turning to face Jiraiya.  
>"You take first watch. Wake me up in four hours." Rikuto turned, and wrapped himself in his sleeping bag, quickly falling asleep, yet still maintaining a subconscious sensory field, as any sensor worth their salt does.<p>

"Tch. Not like I was going to get any sleep regardless." Jiraiya muttered, before adjusting his seating to be more comfortable, and leant back against another tree trunk.

Soon enough, Rikuto's eyes snapped open when he felt Jiraiya approach.

"I'm awake. Take your rest, we leave in another 4 hours." Rikuto murmured, getting up to resume the watch. Jiraiya, not one to argue when presented with sleep, dismissed the notion of provoking the redhead and simply went to sleep, albeit rather disgruntled at being ordered around, even if it was by the "client" so to speak.

Jiraiya awoke to a hand on his shoulder, and like Rikuto had done, snapped awake instantly and began packing his things. Naruto, on the other hand, took a bit longer to wake, from obvious lack of field experience that Jiraiya had in spades, and Rikuto had a respectable amount of, considering his age.

Sitting upright but obviously bleary from the previous day's events, Naruto slowly came to, and began sealing his things away into his equipment scroll, they had a light breakfast of rations and water, before taking off, this time Naruto firmly insisting on making the journey himself. Approving, Rikuto turned and leapt to the trees with Jiraiya and Naruto in his wake.

After a few hours, Rikuto signalled them to stop, and turned to them with a serious expression.

"We're around a half hour's travel distance from the Royal Palace. Naruto, best behaviour, constantly. Don't relax. Before you complain, we're technically in friendly territory, however," he paused, making sure he had Naruto's full attention, "We're also under great danger. There will be forces at play here that want us gone so that we don't cause any more trouble. They could be external, or internal, be from the village, or from Daimyo-sama's own court. Naruto, I'm really serious here, I need you to stay with me at all times, or Jiraiya here. If you see any hot springs, run off and find me immediately. You're a sensor, so you can find my chakra." Rikuto instructed, gripping Naruto's shoulder to make sure he grasped the importance of what he was saying.

"I understand, nii-san." Naruto was solemn; he was old enough to understand that as the possible last known Uzumaki, their lives were in great peril out in the open like this. It made him inch closer to Rikuto without intending to.

Satisfied, Rikuto turned to Jiraiya for his input. "Your thoughts, Jiraiya?" He asked stiffly. He may have detested the man, but he had to respect his superior experience in situations such as this.

Jiraiya thought for a moment. "You're fairly spot on, actually. Although I would advise discretion, especially when pointing factors back to the village. Some may interpret that in ways that you may not like the results of."

Rikuto nodded, accepting the criticism. "Then let's go, gentlemen. Daimyo-sama is awaiting our arrival. Naruto, let's change. Use the physical Henge, well, not that you have much choice, yet." Rikuto sheepishly chuckled at Naruto's deadpan glare.

"**Henge no Jutsu!**" Rikuto and Naruto muttered simultaneously, both shrouded by twin puffs of chakra smoke, that when they cleared, revealed Naruto in a simple dark red kimono, violet obi and with the Uzumaki Clan symbol on the back in black.

Rikuto wore much the same, albeit with a formal white haori similar to his usual one, also with the Uzumaki Clan symbol on the back in black, and his sword now rode on his right hip, secured by the similarly violet obi and completed with black traditional geta and white tabi.

Jiraiya whistled at the change. "Looking good, brats. Let's go."

"I'm over twenty years old, I'm not a brat. Besides, have you forgotten who the commanding officer is? And another thing – do not talk unless spoken to. You carry a high reputation, especially in Hi no Kuni as one of the Densetsu no Sannin, however this is not concerning you. I've dealt with my fair share of politics before I came to Konoha as well as the crap I've had to deal with as Clan Head once I arrived. I would appreciate it if you would comply." Rikuto turned away, and vanished, leaving Jiraiya and Naruto to catch up.

As soon as they'd done so, Jiraiya studied Rikuto intently. His demeanour had shifted somewhat over the time of the trip, and he'd been stumped as to why. The young man's icy, bitter sarcasm was gradually giving way to civility and indifference, and a hint of respect. He was confused, because he'd done nothing of the sort to try and patch things up.

Perhaps to get any closer to either of the Uzumaki cousins, he'd have to do just that, but now mid-mission was not the time, especially during an A-rank mission practically riding on his reputation and the fear it induced whilst not on the levels of his student, the Yondaime Hokage, it was still potent enough.

* * *

><p>Just as Rikuto had said earlier, a half hour's travel soon found them at the outer entrance to the Palace proper. Slowing down to walking speed as to not arouse suspicion of attack, the group made their (much slower, to Rikuto and Jiraiya's chagrin) way to the gates.<br>Presenting their papers and signing forms, Rikuto got them through and was directed to the guest wing, where they would be met by an escort, to see the Daimyo that afternoon.

"Until then, Uzumaki-sama, your party is free to roam the grounds, as long as you do not enter any forbidden areas. They will be marked as such. Good day." The guard waved them off, and turned back with a grunt to the next group to process.

Putting his arms behind his head, Jiraiya took in the familiar sights. He'd last been here on a clandestine mission to inspect some seals that a patrol reported that looked different. He'd stumbled upon a very cleverly concealed explosive array, and had to disable and remove it during the night so that rumour wouldn't spread.

Rikuto simply had his Ryuuringan activated under a genjutsu to observe and remember the layout and patterns that the guards were moving in, his eyes flickering from side to side, tomoe spinning slowly, committing every detail to memory.  
>Seeing this, Jiraiya had to fight off a smirk. This guy was beginning to seem like he was worth his salt as a shinobi after all.<p>

"I suppose seeing as we're shinobi who can actually use sealing scrolls, there's nothing to deposit in our rooms. Well, might as well look." Rikuto changed his mind, leisurely strolling towards the Castle, and eventually inside.

The palace looked absolutely monstrous in size, looming above them in all its royal grace, but when one walked inside, it was absolutely dwarfing, capitalising on one's sense that they were but an ant in comparison.

Floored with polished marble, the majestic foyer rose for several stories, allowing glimpses of the floors above. Through this space, hung many chandeliers, glistening in the morning light, majestically keeping the air of modest decorum.  
>Shaking his head, Naruto tore his eyes from the sight to run after Rikuto, earning a chastising glance for not keeping up.<p>

Soon they rounded a corner, and met a set of red, carpet-lined staircases that ascended the height of the foyer, and were visible on the scores of floors above.  
>After walking up three flights, they arrived at a signposted Guest Wing, where they found their room and not a moment after the door had closed, Rikuto flashed through a series of handseals and slapped both hands to the floor.<p>

"Wow, both hands, Rikuto-nii? Must be complex!" Naruto chirped, his legs swinging from the high bed he'd perched himself on.

Rikuto just smiled. "**Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Kokuangyo no Jutsu**" (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Bringer of Darkness Technique) He intoned, making the Snake seal to finish the technique.  
>"Now," he grunted, getting up, "no none will be able to see, hear or even feel vibrations of what happens inside this room. However, innate sensors like Naruto and I could still have a pretty good idea on chakra signatures, that being the one weakness of this seal." Rikuto explained, looking around the moderately lavish room, decked out with three beds, each separated by a screen, and the joint area with a rather nice looking table and cushions.<p>

"You used the name Kokuangyo in that technique, right? That's actually-" Jiraiya started to inform the redhead, but he held up a hand.

"I'm well aware of the Nidaime Hokage's infamous genjutsu, however this particular seal predates his generation entirely. It's completely coincidental, however my strongest privacy seal in my arsenal so far." Rikuto overrode him, waving off his concerns.

"Speaking of your arsenal, what type of seals do you specialise in? My student, Namikaze Minato, specialised in **jikūkan ninjutsu** (Space-Time Techniques) whereas I specialise in **kekkaijutsu** (Barrier Techniques)" Jiraiya explained, studying the redhead.

"Then I guess I'm similar to your student then. One of my goals is to create my own version of the Hiraishin, however I'm still missing some tweaks to make it… less likely to tear you a new dimension hole." Rikuto gritted his teeth. "It infuriates me. Gives me the right shits, it does." He complained, collapsing onto a bed.

Intrigued, Jiraiya sat next to him, and rolled out a scroll and took out some ink supplies. Naruto, instantly seeing that they were going to be using fūinjutsu, scrabbled over and sat cross-legged next to Jiraiya.  
>"Hey Rikuto-nii, Jiraiya's got sealing stuff out!" He called, waving his arms about.<p>

Hearing the word "sealing", like a true Uzumaki, he sat bolt upright and scanned the room. "Who sealed what now?"

Naruto burst out laughing. "You do that every time, nii-san! You're hilarious!" He barked with laughter, rolling on the floor, oblivious to Rikuto's deadpan glare.

"When you can get beyond conjuring a wall of thin chakra you little shit, you'll begin to understand my bond with my one true love, seals." Rikuto matter-of-factly explained, now sitting in a cross-legged pose across the large scroll from Jiraiya.

"What's this for?" He asked, somehow feeling more comfortable with the man, given his common obsession with sealing. A common ground is a good bridge over hostility.

Jiraiya motioned towards the ink and brush. "Go on, show me your version of Minato-kun's jutsu. Don't worry about me stealing it, I already know the basics of his technique, I just don't have the skill to pull it off, not even close. But I might be able to give you a second perspective." Jiraiya shrugged. "It's your call."

Rikuto studied the man for a moment, even going so far as to consciously narrow his Mind's Eye of the Kagura ability in on him.

Instantly, Jiraiya felt Rikuto's chakra all around him, circling, watching, and judging. And in that same instant, it vanished.

Rikuto nodded, satisfied. "You can't lie when I'm using that ability. It's probably on par with the Kyūbi's Negative Emotions Sensing, actually. Now, my own version? Well, if anything I want to name my own technique after the first one, developed by none other than my other idol, the Nidaime Hokage. He was a Space-Time master, the creator of the Edo Tensei, Hiraishin, amongst other many awe-inspiring techniques. If possible, I admire him more than the Fourth." Rikuto professed, reaching over to grab the brush, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Uzumaki-sama, I'm here to escort you to the dais. Daimyo-sama will see you shortly. I shall wait here until you are ready, sir." Came the voice of a demure young man, yet carried the haughtiness of the royal court well enough.

In a flash, Jiraiya rolled up the scroll and stashed away the supplies.

Rikuto simply rose, refreshed his Henge, which Naruto followed suit, and sighed. "Well, here it is. Come, Naruto. Together, we'll remind the world what they rightly feared. The Uzumaki are back." Rikuto's grin grew wild. "And this time there's no way we're going down."

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><p>So, as usual, tell me what you thought of the chapter, and anything that you want to pass on. Kurien, out!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Progression

**Okay so a bit of a shorter one this time, but better this than nothing, am I right? Okay, please don't hurt me!**

**I'm sorry for the huge lapse in time, but I've been in a mad rush with doing 30+ hours at work a week and balancing a double degree with that, exams coming up and whatnot. In a couple of weeks I'll be able to devote more time to this, however.**

**A big thank you to all that have reviewed, favourited and/or followed, it means a lot! And to those that have added me to their Communities, I'm honoured! Thanks!**

**As always, please leave a review on the chapter, for anything, be it errors, suggestions, or just to tell me how awesome I am. I like that too.**

**On with the story!** (Don't fucking own Naruto, either, bla bla bla.)

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><p>The three Konoha shinobi stood assembled before the almighty royal court of the Hi no Kuni Daimyo, mostly managing to maintain their composures; Jiraiya had been in far more intimidating situations before and thus stood behind the two Uzumaki with his arms crossed, Naruto with all his worldly innocence simply marvelled at the amount of people, but reserved a careful glance or two for the Daimyo himself.<br>Uzumaki Rikuto, however, stood somewhat at attention, with his arms crossed behind his back, looking as stony as he was anxious.

"I bid the court, and Daimyo-sama himself, a good morning. I will now formally introduce my party; behind me, is one that needs no introduction. As for the young one beside me, he is my cousin and clansman; son of Uzumaki Kushina; Uzumaki Naruto. As for myself, I am the grandson of the Shodai Uzukage, Uzumaki Katsurou, I am the rightful Clan Head of the Uzumaki; I am Uzumaki Rikuto." Rikuto grandiosely informed the court, sweeping his violet eyes over the arrangement of nobles and officials alike.

Silence oppressed the room, blanketing it with a thick air of anticipation.  
>After an endless moment, the Daimyo finally cleared his throat. "This court is bearing the weight of decades that have passed since your Clan has last graced us, Uzumaki-dono."<p>

Rikuto bowed once more. "And I feel it with the lack of my Clan, Daimyo-sama. I aim to find my clansmen once more, and if possible establish the Clan in Konohagakure, as my mother village once had very close ties with Konohagakure." Rikuto straightened, this time his eyes seemed to possess an ethereal glow.

The Daimyo simply arched an eyebrow at Rikuto's statement. "You are a very bold young man, you know. Quite like the Uzumaki I remember. Very fitting that you should talk like they once did." The Daimyo paused, and seemed to notice Naruto for the first time, which raised the hackles on Rikuto's neck.

"And what about you, young Uzumaki? How do you introduce yourself to the court?"

Naruto glanced to Rikuto in search of what to do, violet eyes pleading. Rikuto nodded, and gave a small smile, to which Naruto turned around and spoke timidly.  
>"Good morning. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, cousin to Uzumaki Rikuto. I like sealing, ninjutsu and spending time with Rikuto-niisan. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He looked around with a small grin, and stepped back beside Rikuto.<p>

The Daimyo nodded, seemingly appeased. "Your family tradition seems to have been accompanied by awareness of the severity of the situation in your cousin, Uzumaki-dono. However, your petition bears great importance and weight in your favour. The ties between Uzu no Kuni and Hi no Kuni and the respective villages within those countries cannot be ignored. As your home village regretfully lies in ruins, I, the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, do grant your clan asylum and indefinite residency in Hi no Kuni, and do support the Sandaime Hokage's sponsorship for your clan to return to the village. I do trust that I will see more of you in the future, Clan Head." The Daimyo nodded solemnly, indicating that they were dismissed.

Bowing deeply, the Uzumaki and their bodyguard left the chamber, and Rikuto immediately headed to their room, alarming Jiraiya and thus Naruto.

"Rikuto-nii, what's wrong?" Naruto queried, worriedly looking up at Rikuto's furrowed brow.  
>"Although I set up a very obvious monitoring seal, someone's been in our room. Nothing's been touched, but the message is clear enough. We're not safe here. Jiraiya, we've done our part here. It would fit in with the attitude of previous Uzumaki to up and leave now, wouldn't it?" He replied tersely, spinning around to meet Jiraiya's stony look.<p>

"When?"

Rikuto closed his eyes for a moment as seals on the surfaces of the room became visible as they glowed, and then retracted back into where Rikuto was standing.

"Right after we left the chamber. I received notification of it as soon as I got within range of the seal." Rikuto replied, now opening his eyes and glaring at the floor, as if it was to blame.

Jiraiya shook his head. "At least nothing was touched. I'm assuming you set a secondary seal to detect that, and possibly, knowing your heritage, a tertiary seal to apprehend them in some embarrassing or painful way, perhaps even both." Jiraiya accused the redhead with a knowing look, to which said redhead grinned unabashedly.

"Of course."

"Considering that, then yes, I would say it's a wise decision to retreat for now." Jiraiya sighed. "As much as I hate turning tail, this just isn't the right environment for a fight, regardless of the nature. And you Uzumaki sure aren't possessed of the finesse needed for such a fight here."

Rikuto scoffed. "Damn right we aren't. If I fight, I fight with a bang, or several." He waved his hand dismissively.  
>"But, that doesn't change the fact that we need to get out of here, and now, preferably." Jiraiya frowned, worry slowly seeping into his voice. "We don't want to risk either of you two. As far as we know, you're the only Uzumaki left."<p>

Silence reigned for a moment, until Rikuto began resealing their extra belongings, and then stashing that away in a pouch.

"You needn't remind me, Jiraiya. Let's move, we leave immediately. The Daimyo won't miss us. He's too preoccupied with the sluts waiting in his bath." Rikuto said with no small amount of scorn.

Soon enough the front gates came into view, and quickly signing out of the capital, they took to the trees, but not before Rikuto muttered, "By gods I hope he's ready…"

_Tatsu, I, Inu, Mi, Saru, Ushi, Ne, Inu, I, U, Mu, Tatsu, Ushi, Ne, Ushi, Hitsuji, Tori, Tatsu, Saru, Hitsuji, Tora, Ushi, Mi.  
><em>_**Uzumaki **_**_Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Time Skip no Jutsu!_**

Two redheads were currently engaged in a vicious whirlwind of kicks, punches, jabs and spins, both using the deadly Uzumaki taijutsu style, the Uzuken, or Whirlpool Fist.  
>Suddenly feeling the usage of chakra, the duo abruptly split; jabbing chakra-laced feet to the ground to rapidly vacate the clearing, which was then filled with spreading seals, some of which shot out wood, others fire, lightning and one a jet of hissing water.<p>

The first, and bigger one, wiped his forehead with a towel, sighing in contentment.

"I like it how you're big enough, old enough and ugly enough now to spar with me! Gives me a chance to actually tap into my chakra supply." He was slightly above average height; standing at 6' 1", with his hair now shoulder-blade length, with two bangs framing his face, and of a lean build, Uzumaki Rikuto didn't garner his intimidation factor from his build alone. No, it was his eyes – nowadays he had his glowing green Ryuuringan eyes active near constantly, claiming that having it active was "like a normal person constantly streaming a B-rank jutsu" that it was a good chakra exercise for him.  
>Now wearing black shinobi boots, dark grey ANBU-style pants with dark green bandages around his ankles and lower legs, a dark green long sleeved undershirt and thin chainmail, and doing away with his old black muscle shirt, now wore the flak jacket of a Konoha jōnin with his usual black sleveless haori, with green slit marks adorning the end, and the Uzumaki crest in white on his back.<br>Completing the outfit were black combat gloves, with the plates bearing the kanji for 'amplify'.

Rikuto's companion, however, simply huffed in response, absolutely drained by his fellow redhead.  
>"No wonder I'm the only one that you can use your chakra with; I'm the only one aside from Erosennin who can defend ourselves with barrier seals!" He whined, collapsing on his back.<br>Uzumaki Naruto had also changed, albeit much more significantly. He now stood at 5' 2", being slightly taller than his classmates at the Academy, from which he was due to graduate the next day at the normal age of twelve, however his birthday was still yet to come in October. To celebrate, Rikuto had gone all out and bought a new outfit for his cousin, much to the latter's mixed joy and revulsion. The cause for revulsion? Hardly any orange in sight.

He now wore identical items to Rikuto from the waist down, except the bandages were a darkened, burnt orange (much to Naruto's delight) a black T-shirt with the Uzumaki crest on both sleeves, and a light chest and back armour, similar to the ones that the ANBU used, and had a similar set of combat gloves to Rikuto, except his bore no seals.

"Are you ready, Naruto-kun? It's time." Rikuto crossed his arms as Naruto looked up suddenly.  
>"Wait, when we go see Hokage-jiji about your jutsu?" He asked excitedly.<p>

Rikuto grinned widely. "Yep! I'm pretty sure I've got the mechanics right, I just want to look at Nidaime-sama's jutsu from the Scroll, to make sure it's right. If it is, then Konoha will have a Red Flash!"  
>Naruto looked on at his evilly grinning cousin, and couldn't help but think back to the countless nights Rikuto-nii had spent in his study, poring over countless reams of seals and formulae humming and tutting as he worked.<p>

"Okay, let's get going, 'ttebayo!" Naruto somehow regained his energy to spring up and run into the house to get presentable for an audience with the Hokage.

Rikuto however made sure that he had all of the components ready for his own Hiraishin variant, which when marked took the form of a down pointing arrow, with the tail crossed over – schematic scrolls, and sealing supplies to make any necessary adjustments.

"Uzumaki Rikuto, here to see Hokage-sama." Rikuto murmured to the small receptionist that only looked up at the sound of a voice.  
>"Oh, of course Uzumaki-sama! He's waiting for you, head on through." She said, not without a blush as Rikuto's now violet eyes flicked back in her direction.<p>

Rikuto paused, and at a glance from Naruto, he smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, just a little nervous."  
>Naruto just flashed a grin. "It's okay, even if he won't let you see it, I think it's better anyway!" He declared, jabbing at the large double doors with his thumb.<br>Rikuto just smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair, earning his ire. "Thanks squirt."

Pushing open the doors, he waited until Naruto had walked in after him until he closed them, and waited for Sarutobi to activate the extensive privacy seals in the office that Mito had installed herself.

Now mere steps away from the Hokage, Uzumaki Rikuto bowed deeply. "Hokage-sama."  
>Sarutobi inclined his head with a fond smile. "My favourite Uzumaki are here."<p>

Naruto cocked his head to the side with a frown. "We're your only Uzumaki…"

Giving Naruto a light whack over the back of his head and ignoring his indignant cry, Rikuto made eye contact with the Hokage.  
>"Hokage-sama, I come to you now as not only Clan Head of the Uzumaki, but as a student of fuuinjutsu and an avid admirer of all powerful practitioners before me, Nidaime and Yondaime Hokages included. It is with this that I humbly request access to either Hokage's notes on the Hiraishin no Jutsu. If you harbour concerns that I will simply copy the technique, I have my own progress here with me. I only aim to patch possible flaws in my technique before I attempt it. I am aware that Namikaze Minato had access to the Nidaime Hokage's notes and thus created his own variant. I aim to do the same, Hokage-sama."<p>

Sarutobi's eyes widened at hearing this, but narrowed at Rikuto's last mention of the Nidaime.  
>"How do you know this, Uzumaki-kun? It could be that he managed to recreate the jutsu on his own."<br>Rikuto just knowingly smiled. "He hit the same block that I did, that only a master of space-time sealing like Senju Tobirama could ever hope to fix. The mechanics to return the user to our plane in the same sequence, without the acceleration factor. I'm sure he approached you with the same problem?"

Sarutobi sat back in his chair, and assessed the young redhead for a time.  
>After it almost became unbearable for Rikuto to wait, the Hokage simply smiled ruefully. "You speak of seals just like Mito-sama did. Then again, Uzumaki will be Uzumaki I suppose. Yes, you're right, Minato-kun did approach me with the same problem and the same request. And as I did with him, I shall do the same with you, however on two conditions." Hiruzen nailed Rikuto with a hard glare and his KI rose to match, making Rikuto sweat, but he projected his own around him to shield Naruto from it, who was shaking terribly.<p>

"What are they, Hokage-sama?" Rikuto swallowed.  
>The God of Shinobi stood up, and faced the window, staring at his beloved village, the KI and pressure evaporating as quickly as it came, and Rikuto dropped to Naruto to check on him, however at the sound of Sarutobi's voice, his head snapped around.<p>

"I've seen Minato do so much killing with that jutsu that it left him hollowed out each time he used it. Fill the gaping holes in your soul with love, Rikuto. Use it to protect not only Konoha, but the Will of Fire. The second, you are now the guardian of this accursed jutsu. You needn't show me your schematics. Only those who actually come across the problem have completed the seals properly, as Tobirama-sensei told me. He knew that future fuuinjutsu practitioners may seek to acquire his jutsu." Sarutobi vanished, and a few long moments later, returned with a saddened look and the fabled Forbidden Scroll of Seals in his arms.

Rikuto had to restrain himself from rushing over at the sight of his dreams, instead the aged Hokage cleared his desk slowly, taking care not to disturb his paperwork processes, and laid the scroll out, unfurling it, skimming past scores of kinjutsu, until he reached the Hiraishin.

Making several one-handed seals, he tapped the matrix in a staccato rhythm, until a fat scroll emerged. Grimly taking the scroll, he locked eyes with the Uzumaki before handing him the Hiraishin scroll.  
>"I, the Sandaime Hokage, hereby transfer custody of the Hiraishin no Jutsu to the closest living relative of the original owner, Senju Tobirama – Uzumaki Rikuto. You are now free to do what you wish with it. I am not nearly proficient enough to deal with that jutsu, so I now entrust it to you. Perhaps, in time, Naruto may too learn it. After all, it is also his father's jutsu. I'm too old for this shit. You two are dismissed."<p>

With twin bows, the Uzumaki clansmen left the Hokage's office, leaving him to return the scroll to its place.

"So, Rikuto-nii, what's wrong with your jutsu?" Naruto asked, hanging from the ceiling behind Rikuto as to not interrupt the massive array of scrolls, ink pots, brushes and other sealing paraphernalia scattered around the room. Naruto knew better than to interrupt Rikuto-nii when he was in this sealing frenzies.  
>"Hmm, it's exactly what I thought it was. Tobirama had this array sequenced in <em>this<em> way, where I have it- That's it!" Rikuto exclaimed, fistpumping.  
>"I've done it! Well, that remains to be seen…" He muttered, crouching once more to re-write the full array. Memorising it, he pulled out two blank paper tags, and imprinted the marker seal with his chakra onto both. Then, tying one to a kunai, he threw it out the open window, and placed the other onto a small cleared section of floor space.<p>

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He snapped, mentally ordering the clone to perform the Hiraishin and then return.  
>Shortly after, a red flash could be seen from the window, and a retching sound, followed lastly by a popping sound of the clone dispelling.<p>

Rikuto's eyes widened from the clone's memories. "Ah, so the threshold for this algorithm was off, with then set off that indicating…"  
>Naruto sighed as his cousin trailed off, lost in the world of sealing for the next few hours at least, or until he managed to perform a working teleportation.<p>

After a while and a few dissected and warped clones later, Naruto gave up on waiting for his cousin and decided to go upstairs and go over his equipment for tomorrow. Best to be prepared, packing sealing supplies, kunai, shuriken, pre-made Uzumaki explosive tags and other supplies that he sealed in various scrolls, as he didn't know what kind of test that he'd have to face the next day.

Some hours later, as the sun was beginning to descend, Naruto startled as Rikuto triumphantly let out a "FUCK YEAH!" to the heavens, presumably completing a successful use of the Flying Thunder God technique.  
>Deciding against his better judgement to investigate, Naruto made his way downstairs and out into the back yard, only to be assaulted by the sight of near simultaneous red flashes at sealing tags scattered around the back yard.<p>

"Woo! You got it, Rikuto-nii!" Naruto shouted, ecstatic that his cousin could now use the, in Naruto's humble opinion, 'wicked cool' Hiraishin.  
>Rikuto stopped the technique, coming to a halt and his knees in front of Naruto, panting heavily, and to Naruto's senses, unbelievably low on chakra.<p>

"Damn, I didn't think that abusing it like this could be so _intensive_… Perhaps it's my unfamiliarity with it. Hmm, I suppose that can only improve over time… Damn, I only have as much chakra left as a chūnin does! Sweet holy Log!" Rikuto mumbled then cursed avidly, leaving Naruto to sweatdrop.

"Uhh, Rikuto-nii, didn't you say we'd train today?" Naruto timidly asked, crouching to peek under his cousin's red hair that had fallen over his face, only to see a grin.  
>"Sure. I want at least 810 for both kunai and shuriken on those targets, and I want a Kage Bunshin, Henge and Kawarimi done in 6 seconds. Go, you little shrimp!" Rikuto sat up and barked his orders, leaving Naruto scrambling for his equipment, lest he attract his cousin's ire. As anyone worth their salt in regards to clan knowledge goes, a pissed off Uzumaki is a very dangerous Uzumaki.

After practicing his marksmanship for roughly 20 minutes or so with last minute corrections from Rikuto, Naruto finally moved on to performing the 'Academy Three' first with precision, then with speed. Satisfied with those areas, Rikuto held up a hand to stop him.  
>"The Academy also allows a fourth technique, a family or clan technique to get extra credit. Just to be sure," he added, upon seeing Naruto's indignant look, "I want you to use a basic Uzumaki barrier seal."<br>At his, Naruto cocked his head to the side in thought.  
>"Like the <strong>Gyaku Kekkai<strong> **(Reverse Barrier)**?" Naruto asked, still mulling over which barrier to use from his modest arsenal.  
>Rikuto's eyebrow rose at that. "You've stabilised it, have you? Good work. Yeah, that will give them something to gossip about, that's for sure."<br>He then had Naruto write out 5 tags, each capable of erecting the barrier, in quick succession before he was satisfied.

"Alright Naruto, now onto taijutsu. We practiced this earlier, but I want you to keep it up. Uzuken, go!" Rikuto ordered, readying himself for his little cousin's onslaught, which the latter happily decided to wail on Rikuto, using his smaller size and speed to his advantage.  
>"<em>But as always, Rikuto-nii always dodges or blocks every single one of my hits. I've never been able to land a hit on him once!<em>" Naruto ground his teeth impatiently.

Eventually, after another 20 minutes, Naruto slumped back on his rear, panting, whilst Rikuto stood back, wiping the sweat from his brow, only lightly out of breath.  
>"You're doing awesomely at that, Naruto! Just need to work on your succession hits towards the end of the combinations and your power, and you'll be a fearsome opponent in taijutsu!" Rikuto exclaimed, much to Naruto's embarrassment.<p>

"Come on squirt, it's almost time to get dinner ready. Go on and clean up, we're having leftovers because I can't be bothered cooking and you can't be bothered washing up. After that, I'll tell you another story about Uzu." Rikuto yawned, stretching his arms as Naruto chirped an affirmative and scrambled inside to get cleaned up. He loved stories about Uzu!

_A small, perhaps small for his age, little boy ran through the heavily populated forest, ducking, weaving, long jumping and rolling in amongst the impossibly high reaching denizens, using their limbs as springboards, and smoothly avoiding others.  
>He knew this forest better than he knew himself. The different parts of the forest held different families of trees and plants, and he knew them all; which ones you could rely on to heal you, and which ones you could rely on for aid in less desirable interactions.<em>

_The redhead seemed to flow with the movement of the denizens of the forest as they went about their business, slow to the human eye but moving, breathing, living creatures nonetheless. The boy loved how the forest was alive, and he was certain he could feel its chakra, as well as he could feel his own, and the signatures of his clan, far off into the distance, possibly starting to get worried. He often went on forays like this, they should know, dammit!_

_As he thought of this, a wondrous smile crept onto his face. There was always this serene, isolated cave system that he'd stumbled upon once before, but never been able to find it since. It had this strange feeling though, like it had someone else's chakra inside it. Perhaps it was powerful fūinjutsu at work? The redhead rubbed his hands at the mere thought; he loved fūinjutsu more than anything else._

_With that thought in mind, he expanded his senses and was surprised to locate the strange feeling, rather near! Pulse quickening, he snapped open his eyes to scan around, and before long, found a large stone block, overcome with time and the creepers it brings; vines and roots had taken it as their own._

_Edging closer, the boy examined the surface, but deflated when he could find no fūinjutsu markings on it.  
>Instead, he found a stairwell, descending deeply; a dark maw opened wide, daring the redhead to descend and find its secrets, possibly swallowing him whole.<br>Clutching his hands into fists, he threw aside all abandon and charged down the stairs, taking no time to admire the gaping recesses where artifacts possibly once resided, long lost to history._

_After a few minutes of running, a panting heap that resembled a boy found himself at the base of the huge staircase, only to see a huge, absolutely colossal chamber before him.  
>Simply, it was the biggest indoor space the boy had ever seen. It could fit Uzusiogakure in it and still have room to spare.<br>It was then he noticed the equally colossal and impressive sealing array etched into the stone floor. Taking a moment to assess it, time flew by as he observed a cacophony of intermingling processes, that wove around each other, exchanged chakra, information and conversions, and time lost all meaning as the boy suddenly found himself at the epicentre of the sealing matrix._

_Uzumaki instincts screamed at him not to approach it, but suddenly quieted as he assessed the arrays around the centre, just big enough for a person to sit in the lotus position.  
>Overcome by curiosity, he sat down, and let his chakra leak into the seal.<br>Watching in awe as the room was lit up gradually as his glowing forest green chakra flooded the seals, he barely had time to take in a breath as-_

Rikuto brought his hands together with a _slap_, startling Naruto slightly on the lounge in front of the fireplace.  
>"Come on sleepyhead, it's late enough as it is. You've got a genin exam tomorrow to ace, don't you? Go on squirt, up to bed." He murmured, giving his cousin a bear hug, much to his annoyance, but mumbled a 'good night' and began to trek up the stairs, only to freeze as Rikuto called up to him.<br>"And Uzumaki Naruto, if I find you awake with that illumination seal and studying those barriers again, I'll lock you in one, do you hear me young man?"

After hearing his cousin close his bedroom door, Rikuto sighed with a smile. "Fucking brat."


	7. Chapter 7: I'm a Shinobi Now!

**Hey there, everyone, Kurien here!**

**I'm abusing this time I have before exam study to pump out a slightly longer than normal chapter to tide you lot over until I can write freely again. It's 1:15am, and I'm hyped on cookies and milk. Real hardcore, yo.**

**Anyway, as I'm doubtlessly going to enrage a few people with the revelations in this chapter, I'll apologise now!**

**Another thing I'd like to clarify is that this will NEVER be a NaruHina story. The pairing is overused to the point of montony and wanting to burn things. More often than not, it's poorly written, cheesy as fuck or just plain in bad taste. However, if you want to suggest an alernate pairing for either of our eligible Uzumaki bachelors, go ahead in the reviews that you lot would love to write me, hey, hey?**

**Thanks again to everyone for reading, and I hope you like this chapter, because there won't be one for a while, due to my university exams coming up, but I'll write in my off time I suppose. Enjoy!**

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><p>Naruto made sure to turn up early to the Academy. Well, if he was to be completely honest, he would tell you that Rikuto-nii dragged him downstairs by his foot and demanded he get ready.<br>But that's beside the point. He edged his way into the classroom, narrowly avoiding two fangirls squabbling over who got to sit next to their heartthrob, Uchiha Sasuke.

Scoffing at their behaviour, Naruto sidled over and plonked himself down next to Sasuke, who only deigned to glance in his direction to acknowledge his presence.  
>'<em>Such chakra… I'd be a fool not to acknowledge that!'<em> Sasuke snuck another furtive glance at the redhead next to him.

Suddenly, Sasuke was broken out of his reverie by the sound of Haruno Sakura slamming her fist down onto the desk in front of whom he knew to be Uzumaki Naruto.  
>"Oi, Naruto-baka, who the hell do you think you are, sitting next to my Sasuke-kun?!" She screeched, making anyone in the near vicinity wince in pain.<br>Naruto simply reached up and patted her on the arm. "Sakura-san, you're being noisy again. Be quiet."  
>Sakura obviously went to retort, but found that she could no longer move her mouth. Veins bulging in her head, she attempted to hit the smug redhead only to find searing pain shoot through the offending limb.<p>

Sasuke was simply stunned. He of course knew about fūinjutsu, but to see a real Uzumaki? And by real, one wielding the same ability as the Uzumaki in his clan's archives?  
>'<em>To apply a seal by touch!<em>' He gazed at the seal, a pulsating blue on Sakura's arm, where Naruto had 'patted' it earlier.

"You have no right to say where I sit, Sakura-san. I sat here first. There's heaps of other places to sit, now go away." Naruto sighed, tapping the seal once more to dispel it. Sakura rubbed her arm but spared Naruto a growl as she stalked away, defeated once more.  
>Naruto turned back around, to find Sasuke giving him a new look of appraisal.<br>"Uchiha Sasuke." He said, abruptly holding out his hand. Naruto took a look at it and then studied the Uchiha in front of him, surprised that only now did he formally introduce himself shaking his head, he took the hand regardless.  
>"Name's Uzumaki Naruto, don't wear it out." He stuck his tongue out, but stiffened suddenly, and whipped around to face the front of the room as their homeroom sensei, Umino Iruka, used his <strong>Big Head Technique<strong> to forcefully get his class' attention.

"I hope you've all prepared for today! Here's a brief overview of how we're going to test you: first off we'll have the theoretical exam, followed by a 15 minute break, then onto the marksmanship section, and the taijutsu examination, followed by a 45 minute break. After that, there'll be the ninjutsu portion of the exam, where you will also be offered the option of a fourth technique to gain credit. After that, you'll be notified straight away if you've passed or not, and if you have, you must return here in a week's time for team placements. Mizuki-san, would you please hand out the exams?"  
>And with that, the Genin Exams had begun.<p>

**- Hokage's Office -**

Hiruzen was enjoying a nice cup of tea, staring out over the village that he loved so much. A quirky smile tugged at a corner of his mouth when he recalled that today was the Genin Exams, and where his young Uzumaki was bound to graduate.

Enjoying the silence and a rare break from the latest strain of the _Paperworkius Suckius_ virus, his peace was interrupted by a flash of red that briefly illuminated the day-lit room even further, the subsequent calm only interrupted by the swaying of a seal tag attached to the roof by a tri-pronged kunai.  
>"Hokage-sama, you summoned me?" Uzumaki Rikuto knelt in a pose eerily reminiscent of that of ANBU.<br>Sighing, Hiruzen turned to address his subordinate. "Rise, Rikuto-kun. Yes, I wanted to inform you about your requested additional blood test. The results have been given to me."  
>Rikuto cocked his head to the side. '<em>Now why on Earth would they do that..?'<em>

Hiruzen studied the redhead closely. "You're probably wondering why I had to handle it, when you could have easily been summoned by the hospital staff and the results delivered to you directly. However, that would involve several people having access to what the Director deemed to be highly classified information on a military asset, i.e., you. Sit down, Rikuto-kun. We have much to discuss, and so very little time. We will also be joined by two other individuals, towards the end of our discussion." Hiruzen gestured towards the guest seat, which Rikuto took with no small amount of apprehension.

On the other hand back at the Academy, Naruto was having no such troubles. The exam in front of him was initially shrouded in a genjutsu, the chakra used to power it Naruto had no qualms about sensing, and traced it back to Mizuki.  
>Shrugging it off as nothing, he dispelled the genjutsu with a burst of chakra, alerting Iruka, but continued on as if nothing had happened, after a while Iruka also dismissed it.<br>Now that he had a clear chance of reading it, he slumped in defeat. '_Rikuto-nii will kill me if I don't ace the shit out of this! How could I not though?! He has me studying this stuff as much as he does fūinjutsu.'_ He thought, getting to printing his answers out, nearly as neat as the printed words, due to his hours poured into fūinjutsu training.

Mizuki inwardly snarled as he felt the Kyūbi brat dispel his carefully placed genjutsu. How on earth he'd known it was there was beyond the man, but he resolved to find another way to get his goal, or to just cut out the middle-man and do it himself.  
>You could only ensure a job was done properly by doing it yourself, of course.<p>

After being dismissed for the short break, which most of his peers used to commiserate on how badly they'd done on the exam, Naruto took a different route and decided to get to know his chakra better under a tree outside.  
>Rikuto-nii had said that because his chakra felt dense, he should in theory, be able to use his mother's chakra chains ability, like he could.<br>He sat down in the lotus position, but only got as far as calming himself before feeling another presence nearby. Cracking open one eye to peer at the intruder, he saw the raven from earlier.  
>Nodding to him, he muttered, "Uchiha-san. What brings you here?"<p>

"I didn't really feel like talking to anyone else, and besides, you seem like you know what you're doing. A change from our peers." Sasuke trailed off after a while, obviously uncomfortable this far into a social interaction.  
>Sighing at his classmate's inadequacy, he gestured to the ground next to him.<br>"Sit, so I won't hit you with the seals." Naruto brusquely pointed to the ground now, and after a confused Sasuke had taken his seat, Naruto took out a seal tag from earlier, placed it on the ground and held a half-Tiger handseal to activate it.

Streams of spidery fūinjutsu spread out from the tag, forming a pentagon, and from there, a light grey barrier shimmered, indicating the seal had been fully activated, and not a moment too soon; Ino and Sakura had then face-planted into the barrier, and due to it being the **Gyaku Kekkai (Reverse Barrier)** they were then sent sailing away, with the force from their own faces.

Naruto sat back against the tree, and took a breath. "How's the serenity?" He mumbled, stretching his neck. "Using that seal tag was worth the result, I think."  
>Sasuke could only close his mouth by sheer force of will. His Uchiha pride demanded it, of course, and proved enough to restrain the laughter, this time. Uzumaki Naruto would prove a pain in the ass if he wanted to preserve his image, he decided.<p>

However, after hearing Iruka's call for the next portion, Naruto simply picked up the now useless seal tag, dispelling the barrier.  
>He then ambled over to where Iruka was calling the students over to the range, to test their weapons usage, followed by a suddenly mute Uchiha.<p>

"Alright everyone, line up in alphabetical order! You should know this well enough, we've been at it for years!" Iruka called, making hurrying motions with his free hand, the other occupied by a loaded clipboard.  
>Soon enough, it came to be Naruto's turn. With a nervous grin at Sasuke who cracked a semblance of a smile in return, he threw his lot of shuriken with easy flicks of his wrists, scoring a modest 810. He then took out tri-pronged kunai much to the shock of Iruka, but proved to be a false alarm as Naruto simply threw them, getting a perfect score of 10/10.  
>Moving quickly to collect his kunai, he scurried out of the way, and opted to sit back and tune out, idly watching the other students try their aim.<br>However when it came to Sasuke's turn, Naruto perked up and craned his neck up to see his somewhat friend try, getting 9/10 with his shuriken and 10/10 with his kunai.

After lying down next to Nara Shikamaru and watching the clouds for some time, he jumped up excitedly as his name was called, presumably for the taijutsu portion.  
>Upon seeing that he was to face off against Inuzuka Kiba, the second ranked in taijutsu, he paled a little, but steeled himself upon imagining Rikuto-nii's glowing fist if he chickened out.<br>Sliding his right foot to the left and bending his knee slightly, bringing his arms up to float easily at his sides, Naruto steadied his breathing and chakra, ready to strike.  
>Iruka looked at Naruto closely. '<em>So he's using the Uzuken, huh? I've only ever seen it used once, by his guardian, Uzumaki Rikuto. Poor Ebisu got up his nose… One hospital trip later and I got his point. Regardless, it's a devastating style if used by a master.<em>'  
>Naruto first offered the Symbol of Confrontation, and Kiba readily returned it.<p>

"Ready, set… Go!" Iruka called, stepping out of the ring to observe the spar, as Kiba shot forward with a straight hook, not thinking the modest boy could do much against his onslaught; he hadn't beforehand.  
>Although much to his surprise, Naruto ducked under, spun, and lashed out with a brutal spinning kick to Kiba's exposed midsection, sending him sailing and rolling out of the ring.<br>Naruto simply spent the rest of his momentum to spin back to standing, and making the Sign of Reconciliation, he walked over to Kiba to make sure he was okay, and after lending him an arm to move away, the next fight began, but not before Iruka ran another cursory glance over the redhead helping his classmate.  
>'<em>Wow. Rikuto-san must be a competent teacher; he's got Naruto to not only use his stature to his advantage, but must have trained his physical strength too. That was a smoothly executed kick, and it was definitely a mastered Uzuken move.<em>'

**- Hokage's Office -**

After setting up his strongest privacy seal, the **Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Bringer of Darkness Technique)**, Rikuto took his seat across the desk from Hiruzen, his pulse quickening.

"What is it, Hokage-sama? What did they reveal?" Rikuto asked, glancing at the sealed manila envelope on the desk.  
>Sighing, Hiruzen opened it and laid out the contents for Rikuto to see, which elicited a stifled gasp from the redhead.<br>"Forgive my morbid humour, but I think my target is growing beyond the size of my back."  
>Hiruzen allowed himself a chuckle. "You remind me of Tobirama-sensei, sometimes. But, yes, this is accurate. I was there when I demanded that the results be re-calculated. Like you, I was incredulous. Look over them again."<p>

Rikuto peered at the sheets again.

**Name:** Uzumaki Rikuto  
><strong>Age:<strong> 24  
><strong>Rank:<strong> Jōnin

_[LIMITED RESULTS DUE TO INSUFFICIENT RECORDS]_

**Great Grandparents:** Uzumaki Mito; Senju Hashirama  
><strong> Maternal Grandparents:<strong> Uzumaki Katsurou; Uzumaki Mitsuko

**Parents:** Uzumaki Naoki, Uzumaki Emi

**Bloodline Limits:** Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Yin Release  
><strong>Latent Bloodline Limits: <strong> Wood Release

Rikuto's eyes widened.

_Suddenly feeling the usage of chakra, the duo abruptly split; jabbing chakra-laced feet to the ground to rapidly vacate the clearing, which was then filled with spreading seals, some of which shot out wood, others fire, lightning and one a jet of hissing water._

"How did I miss that..? I knew about my **In'yōton** **(Yin Release)**, but… I'm… The reason I was so prized back in Uzu, and even at the Fire Temple… This can't be right. But it's right here…" He trailed off, looking the Hokage dead in the eye. "**Mokuton** **(Wood Release)**, of all things?"  
>Hiruzen scrunched his eyes in resignation. "That was why I demanded the tests be re-run, on different equipment and everything. This puts you in a very, <em>very<em> difficult situation. Should you be seen using it, you'd never be able to leave the village without being hunted. Not to mention our own village's reaction. You're already a target for the CRA as it is."

Rikuto slunk back further into his chair. "This is bad. Wait a minute. I don't have an Earth affinity. Not that my elemental seal showed, anyway. Huh. Oh, it only shows up to four, I forgot in my state of mind…" Rikuto buried his face in his hands.  
>"It's not like I don't know any more of Konoha's abilities now, huh? Hiraishin, Mokuton, Kage Bunshin, amongst others. Still, this gives me something to try my best towards, in addition to Hiraishin. I wonder, a style that combined Mokuton and Hiraishin…" He cackled softly.<p>

Hiruzen watched on as Rikuto babbled before him, obviously in a state of shock.  
>"You know, Rikuto-kun. The Scroll of Seals now has something else that rightfully belongs to you, also via blood-relation."<br>Rikuto's snapped up, and delivered an intelligent reply, "Huh?"

Hiruzen simply disappeared in a Shunshin, only to return moments later with the same majestic Scroll of Seals.  
>Taking a moment to peruse through it, he retrieved a smaller fat scroll and passed it across the desk.<br>"That scroll is full of Mokuton jutsu that Hashirama-sensei documented in case any of his heirs managed to activate the bloodline. Although yours may be dormant, but the sheet says 'latent' so it just means you have the ability to use it, but you haven't been aware of it up until now. Start with the **Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique)** to get a feel for using Mokuton chakra, then go from there. Two of Hashirama-sensei's most devastating techniques, **Mokuton Hijitsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a Sea of Trees)**, and **Mokuton: **is in there, along with the technique that made him widely feared… **Mokuton: Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu (Wood Release: Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique: Enclosed Hermitage Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands)** or in other words, the jutsu used to subdue Bijū."

Rikuto looked at the Hokage in awe, and then gazed at the scroll in his hands. Taking off his upper body garments, confusing the Hokage until he saw a complex storage sealing array over his heart.  
>"I take it you know what this seal does should I die." Rikuto said gravely, not looking up, instead nicking his thumb on one of his slightly prominent canines and swiping it over the seal, activating it.<br>Then, pressing the scroll against the seal, it was slowly sucked into it, leaving nothing behind, and as there was nothing else to seal, the matrix faded away, leaving Rikuto's moderately scarred chest behind.  
>He quickly redressed, and bowed to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, I thank you for your time in personally discussing this with me. I will ensure that I only train this in absolute secrecy, in my clan's compound."<br>"See that you do, Rikuto-kun. In a week, show me your progress. If you are able to use Mokuton with reliability, I have someone that you would benefit greatly from meeting."

**- Konoha Academy Building -**

Naruto sat slumped at his desk, trying to sleep for all he was worth. Having a surname so far back in the alphabet was beginning to wear on his nerves, Sasuke next to him feeling much the same way but refusing to show it.  
>The Ninjutsu Section was currently underway, and after waiting a total of an hour including the break, Naruto was simply fed up.<br>"Calm down. It won't get you anywhere losing your cool." Sasuke mumbled, casting a glance at his somewhat friend.

Naruto stopped tapping his foot and sighed. "I know, Sasuke. It's just-"  
>"Uchiha Sasuke! Off you go!" A nondescript Academy instructor called out, pointing to the examination room door.<br>Naruto just let his face hit the desk in resignation as the raven left. Not before long, however, he was jolted awake with a loud voice.  
>"Uzumaki Naruto! You're up! Quick into the room! Good luck!"<br>Sasuke, now returned, just sat back with a smug look under his hitae-ate, which Naruto wanted nothing more than to shove down his throat, but had no time, after all, he was about to graduate!

Naruto quietly closed the doors, turning to the three instructors behind a long table; Umino Iruka, Sasaki Mizuki, and a newly hired examiner, Yamada Tarou.  
>Naruto bowed as he stood before them.<br>"So, Naruto. Are you ready? In this section, you need to perform the **Bunshin no Jutsu**, the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**, and the **Henge no Jutsu**, but also an optional fourth technique. Proceed." Yamada explained.  
>Naruto raised his hand timidly. "Uhh, Yamada-sensei, can I use <strong>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)<strong> and an Uzumaki sealing technique?"  
>Yamada looked up, and assessed the redhead. '<em>It wouldn't surprise me if he was forced to use it due to his chakra composition.<em>'  
>"Go ahead, Uzumaki-san, however do note that we do not usually condone such high-rank jutsu without prior notice from your parent or guardian, which Uzumaki-sama has already provided."<br>Naruto nodded his understanding.

Seallessly, Naruto sent three Kage Bunshin in three separate directions behind him, switched with one, transformed the other into his cousin, Uzumaki Rikuto, who crossed his arms and stared imperially at the examiners, making even Yamada draw a breath.  
>Then, shocking the examiners, the transformed 'Rikuto' slammed a seal tag on the ground and called, "<strong>Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Gyaku Kekkai! (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Reverse Barrier)<strong>" as the real Naruto pegged a kunai at the newly-erected barrier, only for it to bounce off and embed itself into the other side of the room with a heavy 'thunk'.

"Well then, Naruto-kun, you've done extremely well! I can only see to award you full points for this section, having used no handseals at all, even for a B-rank kinjutsu. Well done, come and collect your forehead protector." Iruka beamed, passing a forehead protector with a black cloth to the exuberant redhead. "Go on, head outside!"  
>"Hai, Iruka-sensei! Thank you." He said, bowing once to his teacher and once again to the examiners.<p>

After Naruto had run out, of course leaving the doors wide open in his excitement, Yamada sighed.  
>"This is just the beginning, isn't it?"<br>Iruka could only chuckle. "He's going to wear us out, I'm absolutely certain."

The blinding light finally faded from Naruto's eyes as he'd dashed out of the room, leaving a solemn Sasuke behind looking after him.  
>Suddenly he'd felt a pair of arms wrap around him, followed by the wave of what felt to be bright, warm green chakra, and Naruto instinctively returned the hug, knowing instantly who it was by the chakra alone, a chakra he could distinguish from many kilometres away.<br>"See? I knew you'd ace it! Now, why don't you come along, Sasuke? We're going to Ichiraku Ramen. Oh no you don't." Rikuto grinned, a wicked gleam in his eye that made Sasuke edge away even faster, only to be stopped as Rikuto grabbed his arm, having already contact with Naruto, vanished in a high-powered Shunshin, leaving no trace of them being there.

Seconds later, Rikuto landed from the Shunshin, and dove through the flaps, only to be beaten by a mere millisecond by a hungry Genin.  
>Sasuke, however, was on the ground outside, dazed by the Shunshin, suddenly grabbed, propped up against a wall and left to recover as Naruto retook his seat, and gazed at Teuchi's back.<br>"Oi, old man, what gives!? You're taking too long!" Naruto brashly called, wiping the drool from his mouth, then whining as Rikuto whacked him over the back of the head.  
>"Be nice to the man who serves us ramen worthy of the Uzumaki, you little shit!" Rikuto scolded, turning to the ramen chef with a grin stretching from ear to ear.<br>"Now, I put my preorder in this morning, but we've got a tagalong." Rikuto explained, patting Sasuke on the cheek without looking away from a bemused Teuchi.

"That's no problem, I'd accounted for you lot so we have the normal amount of supplies on top of that. Oh, looks like your Uchiha friend is awake. I wonder what happened to him." Teuchi wondered, turning back to tend to the cooking ramen.  
>"What the hell..?" Sasuke grumbled, coming to, and looking around him confusedly. "Where am I?"<br>Rikuto waved without breaking his staring competition with the awaiting bowl. "Ichiraku Ramen. You started to run away so I brought you along with one of my Shunshins. I figured it'd knock you for a six long enough for the ramen to cook and you not being able to refuse." Rikuto mumbled, also wiping the drool from his face.

Sasuke deadpanned. '_So THIS is the Second Red Death? The only one to surpass Shisui's skill with the __**Shunshin no Jutsu**__? And he's drooling? Oh God, don't look!_'

"Ready!" Teuchi called, and as soon as the bowls had hit the bench, the two Uzumaki had already called "Itadakimasu!" and hoed into their bowls, as Sasuke looked on in morbid fascination, then looking in between his bowl and the two redheads scarfing down the dishes.  
>Shrugging off his misgivings about a free meal, Sasuke also dug in, and couldn't help but admire how good it was. By no means falling to the allure, he did enjoy the meal.<p>

After thanking Rikuto for the meal, he was about to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
>"Uchiha Sasuke. You know that my home is always open to you, regardless. I will not force you often into taking me up on that offer, but do know it is open."<br>Sasuke closed his eyes and shrugged off the hand, before leaving without a word.  
>"What a butt." Naruto grumbled in between mouthfuls of his sixth bowl. Rikuto cast an eye to his finished sixth, but felt replete. After paying Teuchi and dragging Naruto away by the ear, he found a deserted alley, and performed the Hiraishin to get them home instantly.<p>

Rikuto then sighed, knowing what he then had to do.  
>"Naruto, we're going downstairs, and I mean downstairs <em>downstairs<em>." Rikuto called, making handseals and moulding his chakra into a certain shape, and to the right frequency.  
>"Oooh, I love that place, let's go!" Naruto jumped over to Rikuto, clutching onto his back like a sloth on a tree, much to Rikuto's ire, but didn't last long as the duo disappeared in another red flash.<p>

- Uzumaki Training Chamber -

"Naruto-kun, get off."

…

"Oi squirt, really, I have to show you something but I need to talk to you first."

…

"Ugh. You're a little shit sometimes." Rikuto grumbled, letting loose a torrent of chakra, sending Naruto flying with a happy squeal.  
>Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rikuto sighed. "Get over here squirt!"<br>Naruto laughed as he ran over and sat on his butt with his legs sprawled out. "What's up? It's gotta be important if we came down here!"  
>Rikuto nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is. Listen, I had Hokage-jiji run some extra blood tests on me to see if I could find any of my family records that may exist here in Konoha. And… he found some serious, heavy results."<p>

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"  
>"What I'm about to tell you, you CANNOT repeat unless me or the Hokage says so, do you understand?" Rikuto was deadly serious. Naruto could tell by the agitated nature of his chakra.<br>Nodding quickly, Rikuto eased back. "I found out that my great-grandparents are none other than Uzumaki Mito, and the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama."  
>"Whoa… That's so cool!" Naruto was wide-eyed at his cousin that somehow became even cooler.<br>"There's more, though," Rikuto continued, "it also showed that I have two bloodline limits; the **In'yōton (Yin Release)** that I already knew about and we both have; but the second is what I came down here to test with you. Apparently I have a latent bloodline limit, one that people call **Mokuton (Wood Release)**." Rikuto sighed, taking off his upper clothes, confusing Naruto.  
>"No way…" Naruto gasped, sitting back in shock. "You can use… Shodai-sama's kekkei genkai? But… Whoa." Naruto said again, watching Rikuto whip through hand seals, draw blood and withdraw the Mokuton scroll from his heart seal.<p>

Studying the first jutsu for a moment, Rikuto went through a variety of handseals before completing the chain with the Serpent seal.  
>"<strong>Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique)<strong>" Rikuto called, feeling a tug at the back of his neck, turned to find a partially correct clone, however the left eye was missing, the left arm was made of wood, and the right leg was malformed.  
>Eyes widening in realisation that he did indeed have the ability to use the Wood Release, Rikuto grinned widely, and skimming to the technique he had in mind, his Ryuuringan activated on the high of his chakra, and he perceived the chakra imprinted into the scroll by none other than Hashirama himself.<p>

Weaving through the introductory use handseals, Rikuto clapped his hands together into the Serpent seal, letting his impressive chakra flare, rolling off of him in whipping green flames, making Naruto take a few steps back to ease the pressure of being near such potent chakra.

"**Mokuton Hijitsu: Jukai Kōtan! (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a Sea of Trees)**" Rikuto roared, flooding his chakra into the jutsu, which resulted in scores of trees filling the cavernous space, rushing and pushing around each other, shattering the air with leaves and branches, a testament to Rikuto's affinity to the element.  
>But also, leaving a collapsed, panting Rikuto on the ground, with Naruto calling out his name frantically.<br>Thinking of the only person he knew to help, he pushed chakra into the seal on his side, alerting both Rikuto and the Sandaime Hokage of his plight. Being the Kyūbi jinchūriki, Naruto wanted to have a failsafe that could alert people should he be threatened.

Rikuto groaned weakly, his Ryuuringan fading, leaving his rich violet eyes, that unfocused as he lost consciousness.  
>In seconds, Hiruzen had managed to unlock his way through several layers of seals and barriers to reach the two, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of the behemoth forest that stood majestically before him.<p>

"Holy Mother of Log, that's fucking huge!" He cursed, rushing over to a sobbing Naruto and a clearly chakra exhausted Rikuto, along with a collapsed Moku Bunshin.  
>Sighing in exasperation, he patted Naruto on the head, drawing his attention.<br>"Jiji, help! He suddenly used that jutsu, and his chakra was so powerful! Then after muttering something he's sick!" Naruto babbled, pointing to his downed cousin, who was now breathing normally.

"Don't fret, Naruto-kun. He's just got chakra exhaustion, which for an Uzumaki to get, well, this is probably only the second time I've ever seen it." '_Not to mention this jutsu… Of course Rikuto had to empty his reserves to get a result like this, but for him to be even able to use it on this scale in the first place, is simply incredible. Not only that… It looks like it was his second __**Mokuton**__ jutsu he's ever done. The potential within this young man is simply unheard of since Hashirama-sensei's time. No doubt little Naruto here will be too far behind either.' _Hiruzen explained to the young boy, calming him greatly with a touch.

Sniffing, Naruto nodded, helping the Hokage transport Rikuto to the lounge in the main house, before the Third departed with a wave in a Shunshin.

This left Naruto to his down devices, and to anyone that knows either of the resident Uzumaki well at all, that means trouble.  
>As a wicked grin spread of the redhead's features, elsewhere several ANBU agents suddenly felt like they'd been washed with pins.<p>

- 1 Week Later -

Rikuto had since learned not to pump all of his chakra into **Mokuton** jutsu as they required more chakra than he was used to producing for regular jutsu, save for his** In'yōton **jutsu, but he had very few of those as it was. Being unconscious for a whole twelve hours and having to reprimand his little cousin for the subsequent unsupervised, village-wide pranks was enough to reinforce that lesson.

As for Naruto, he'd been dropped off at the Academy by Rikuto, who then vanished after giving a two-finger salute and an eye-smile.  
>Shrugging off his cousin's odd behaviour, feeling that he knew something that Naruto didn't, he headed into the Academy, to find Sasuke on his own, and a couple of others, like Aburame Shino, and Hyūga Hinata.<br>Immediately choosing to sit next to Sasuke, who acknowledged him with a nod, Naruto began to pester him about his week, only to receive a series of "Hn" grunts of various lengths.  
>Eventually giving up on that, he decided to do the next best thing, sleep.<p>

He awoke to being elbowed in the ribs from Sasuke, who gestured towards the now present and irritated Iruka.  
>"Now, if I have all of your attention," Iruka growled, throwing a sharp look at Naruto who blinked innocently, "I can continue with team assignments. Remember your Jōnin sensei are now your teachers and immediate superiors!"<p>

Again, Naruto let his head fall to the desk, only to perk up when he heard his name: "Team 7 consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura-" Only to be cut off by Sakura's squeal, and various other groans from fangirls and fanboys alike.  
>Coughing, Iruka continued, "and your Jōnin-sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."<p>

"Oh… That's why…" Naruto groaned, realising why Rikuto-nii had acted funny that morning. "He knew all along that Kakashi-san would be my Jōnin-sensei… That traitorous bastard!" Naruto growled, flames roaring to life in his eyes as he made a fist.  
>Sasuke looked on, confused and eager to change the subject of the banshee being on their team. "What's that meant to mean?"<br>Naruto turned to face him with a groan. "Rikuto-nii often does missions with this elite Jōnin called Hatake Kakashi, or the Copy Ninja. He's really late all of the time, perverted and doesn't talk much. Seems like a pretty cool guy though, when he's been around at home."  
>Listening to Naruto's explanation, Sasuke held back a sigh. "So how long are we in for?"<br>Naruto's head falling to the desk again was enough of an answer.

"Three fucking hours."

"Language!"


	8. Chapter 8: Better Than Scum

**Welcome to Chapter Eight of FTDL!~**

**I've finally finished my university exams, so I'll be shooting off chapters whenever inspiration strikes, so... Yeah I'm not promising ****_anything_****.**

**If I owned Naruto, why the ****fuck**** would I be posting on a ****_Fan-Fiction_**** website?**

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><p>Sure enough, close to Naruto's prediction, Hatake Kakashi did indeed turn up three hours late, exactly.<p>

What the two other genin didn't notice, however, because Sasuke was too busy trying to sleep, and Sakura was fawning over him, that Naruto had long since placed a few lots of seals around the entrance, some more conspicuous than others.

So, when Kakashi had decided that enough was enough and that it was time to go in and greet his sensei's son, and resign himself to dealing with the other two, he walked in, only reflexively jump as the first array activated, almost ensnaring him in a vicious paralysis seal, only for his eye to widen in dismay as the secondary array activated, forming a solid blue barrier, trapping him inside.  
>Seeing the perpetrator barely able to control his laughter and pointing above his head, Kakashi looked up to see a bucket of water upside down, with the water only held back by the glowing blue chakra of the barrier.<p>

Suppressing a sigh, Kakashi instead levelled a glare at Naruto, who was still laughing with no apparent effort to restrain himself.  
>"My first impression of you all? You suck. Meet me on the roof." Kakashi murmured, idly studying the seal array on the floor. '<em>Looks like he's well-versed in barrier techniques, but that's probably because of Rikuto's teaching. He's made absolutely sure I can't render the array defunct by keeping all of it outside of the walls, and a considerable distance back, too. However…<em>' Kakashi mused, fighting back a smile. Things were interesting already.

Sasuke was not sure whether to laugh, sneer at their Jōnin sensei for falling for such a trick, or just go back to sleep. Shrugging, he opted for a mixture of the latter two.

Sakura was about to hit Naruto over the back of the head and reprimand him for trapping their sensei like that, but stopped with a sharp intake of breath when she saw the barrier shatter apart, dropping the bucket of water over him.

Kakashi retracted his hand, after simply shattering the barrier with lightning chakra, an extremely low-powered Raikiri fading from his hand.  
>Before the water could hit the Jōnin, he simply vanished in a shunshin, leaving the three genin to get up and chase their escapist sensei upstairs.<p>

Kakashi wasn't surprised when it was Naruto who made it first, in a very impressive shunshin for his age.  
>"So, Rikuto already taught you that technique, huh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Yeah, but he said that if he caught me trying to use it in battle though he'd dye my hair green with a seal that I couldn't break. But it's okay, I don't think I can handle it in battle anyway yet." Naruto waved it off, sitting down to wait for his teammates to arrive.

Kakashi merely sighed. Today was going to be a long day…  
>"Okay, pinky. You first. Names, likes, dislikes, dream for the future. Go." Kakashi drawled, not deigning to look up from his smut.<br>Sakura cocked her head to the side, and furrowed her brow. "Can you give an example for us, Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto just palmed his face. "Sakura-san, that was pretty self-explanatory, did you really have to ask?"  
>Sasuke just nodded, making Sakura slump in a fit of depression.<br>Kakashi groaned internally, but pointed to Naruto instead. "You there, match stick. Go."

Naruto formed a fist, and his hair seemed to twitch, but he held his composure and continued nevertheless.  
>"Well, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, don't wear it out. I like fūinjutsu, ramen, egging my cousin Rikuto on until he tries to roast me alive, and mischief. I hate waiting, tests, incompetent people and idiots. My dream for the future? To find every Uzumaki that's lost out there, and bring them home! Then, perhaps I'll move on to bigger and better things." Naruto's countenance changed dramatically throughout his speech, at times forming fists, mock drooling and at the end, a soft smile and truthful words.<p>

Kakashi couldn't help but sweatdrop at Naruto's introduction. '_He's exactly like Kushina-nee was… Right down to the temper and all. I swear if his hair was long enough it would react like hers did, too.'_

"Okay, has pinky recovered yet? Good, now go. Naruto gave you your example." Kakashi drawled, his face once more into the smut.  
>Sakura sat bolt upright. "My name's Haruno Sakura! I like…" she trailed off, giggling in Sasuke's direction, whilst Naruto mock gagged over the side of the seat. Meanwhile, Sakura continued, "My dislikes are anyone who thinks they're better than Sasuke-kun, and spicy things! My dream for the future…?" Sakura barely concealed a nosebleed as she tried in vain not to look in Sasuke's direction.<p>

Sasuke coughed, and inched closer to Naruto. "My name's Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like very much; tomatoes, a good fight and people who can see beyond bullshit and who have no tolerance for it. I dislike most things, and my dream for the future? To kill Uchiha Itachi, but not before wringing his neck for answers."

He firmly ignored Sakura's large adoring eyes as he again inched closer to Naruto, who didn't mind.

Kakashi snapped his book shut, and heaved himself off the railing. "Since we've all introduced ourselves-" He stopped as Naruto coughed loudly.  
>"Sensei. What about you?" Naruto asked innocently, looking up at a tired Kakashi.<p>

"Fine, seeing as matchstick wants me to introduce myself… I'm Hatake Kakashi, I like things, dislike some others, and yeah I dream of the future sometimes… Okay, meet me at Training Ground 7 at 5am tomorrow for uhh, oh yes, 'training', and I suggest you don't eat breakfast. You might throw it up." Kakashi added his last note with an eye-smile before performing a leaf Shunshin, leaving the Genin to themselves.

"Well… that was uh… Interesting." Naruto picked his ear. "Well, I'm going home, see you lot tomorrow at eight." He was about to leave before Sakura called him with a shout.  
>"But Kakashi-sensei said 5am! Weren't you listening, you idiot?" She screeched, turning to Sasuke, expecting him to see her telling off the class clown, only to meet uncaring air.<p>

"Haruno Sakura. Understand this. You're an embarrassment to kunoichi, with your fawning and idiocy. With the rate you're going, Kakashi's definitely going to fail you tomorrow. Oh, I've said too much. I shouldn't have said that, I should _not_ have said that."  
>Sakura startled, spinning around to find a larger, older version of Naruto, save for the man's menacing eyes, glowing a forest green, and with a pattern that resembled the Sharingan, however he was cursing himself out.<p>

"Well, off you go, pinky. And yeah, turn up at least 2 and a half hours late tomorrow. Kakashi might throw you by turning up half an hour before he normally does." Rikuto added over his shoulder, walking over to Naruto, only to grasp his arm, and both vanished in a perfect shunshin, leaving no trace of movement.

"Fail me tomorrow? What on earth could that mean? We're already Genin! But… Am I really that bad?" Sakura slumped back onto the bench, the space seeming a lot larger now she was left to her own thoughts.

**- Uzumaki Compound -**

"Wow, you really shot that girl down, Rikuto-nii. I wanted to say it, but…" Naruto trailed off, thinking of the best way to phrase his thoughts.  
>"You're too kind for your own good, squirt." Rikuto commented, poking his head into the kitchen sink cupboard to search for the cleaning chemicals.<p>

"And you're just too much of an ass." Naruto quipped, idly cleaning his fūinjutsu brushes.  
>"Don't you know it." Came a muffled reply, as Rikuto was still searching. "Oh fuck it, I'll get some tomorrow. The benches can wait." He cursed closing the doors with a huff.<p>

"So, squirt. I had a thought, and it's pretty serious. I think, seeing as I'm directly descended from Shodai-sama, and your mother was a close relation of mine, it could be all too possible you might have inherited the Mokuton too." Rikuto murmured, stroking his chin.

Naruto put the brush down. "Wait, I could be able to use it too?"  
>Rikuto shrugged. "It's possible, but at best, pure conjecture at this point. After your te- training tomorrow, I'll take you to the hospital to get a blood and chakra tests." Rikuto coughed when he nearly spilled Kakashi's beans. Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he shrugged it off after a few moments.<p>

"Well, I'm going to practice, wanna come? You can keep working on your explosive seals there, remember."  
>At the mere mention of explosives, like a true Uzumaki, Naruto had bundled up his sealing supplies and had latched onto Rikuto's side like a leech, causing the latter to sweatdrop.<p>

"Naruto, you're almost twelve. What are you doing?" Rikuto looked down at his sheepish cousin.  
>"Mmph mph mrrrph mrrmph!" Naruto indignantly replied, his mouth full of sealing brushes. Shaking his head, Rikuto located the correct seal tag, and activated the Hiraishin to teleport to it.<p>

Rikuto then went up one end of the training cavern, and began weaving through seals. "**Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Laughing Buddha Technique)**!" He hissed, clapping into the Serpent seal, and manipulated three large wooden hands that burst through the ground, swatting at imaginary enemies, and jabbing at others, and the last was coiled around Rikuto protectively.

Naruto, however, had a thought. "Rikuto-nii, could I talk to the Kyūbi?" He called, the surprise of the other redhead causing the wooden hands to drop to the ground as he lost his control of the technique.  
>"You what? Oh hell no, not without me in there you're not! Sit still!" Rikuto rushed over, and sat in the lotus position opposite Naruto.<p>

"Look into my eyes, Naruto." Rikuto whispered, once he'd felt that Naruto had calmed down enough to force their way into his mindscape.

Naruto felt slightly alarmed when he felt his surroundings shift rapidly, to be replaced with a prairie plain, with a very densely populated forest off to one area, and neverending valleys and undulating hills, all with long grass gently waving in a non-existent breeze.

Rikuto's eyes widened at the forest. "So, looks like you might've just inherited the Mokuton, hey squirt."  
>Naruto startled, only to find Rikuto beside him. "How did you get here?"<p>

Rikuto looked down to Naruto's curious gaze. "You've been here before then? How far have you gone?"  
>Naruto looked aside. "I… I've been up as far as the forest, but there's a real angry, scared and hateful chakra in there and I think it's the Kyūbi. I've been too scared to go any further."<p>

"Well I'm here with you now. To answer your question, I used my eyes to penetrate the seal. So to explain it in a way that makes sense… I put us in a genjutsu that caused you to draw on the chakra in the seal, bringing us here, linked by my genjutsu. But that went only as far as the seal. It's all you now, kiddo." Rikuto explained, putting a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder.  
>"It's important that you do the talking. I'll be here for support, but I'll try not to get in the way too much."<br>Naruto nodded, and hesitantly began walking towards the source of the ominous chakra ahead, the chakra he knew to belong to the Kyūbi.

After what seemed to be at least half an hour, they finally approached the beginning of the dense forest, which seemed to exude its own calming aura, but not nearly enough to prevent the maliciousness that seemed to dwarf the two.  
>"Let's go, Naruto." Rikuto murmured, steering him towards it.<p>

As they were walking in, Rikuto had to wonder at the hate that radiated out from where the mental representation of the seal was. What did the Kyūbi have done to him that he felt this way? Surely, there was the accounted records, but there had to be more.  
>Rikuto snapped himself out of his reverie as they approached a large cave entrance, easily towering above the height of the underground training cavern back at the Uzumaki Compound.<p>

Together, the two Uzumaki entered the cave, and descended for what seemed an eternity, before the ground plateaued out, and even further from there, was the seal; great iron bars that stretched from the ground all the way into the top of the cave, which was so high it faded into darkness.  
>Situated on the centre bar, was the paper tag that covered what Rikuto knew to be the seal mechanism.<p>

**"So, my jailer and his caretaker have finally plucked up the courage to visit me. How droll."** A gargantuan blood-red fox prowled closer to the bars, and twitched his nine tails in annoyance. His opposable digits clawed into the dirt, and his ears twitched as the sound of Naruto swallowing reached them.

"I… uh…" Naruto stuttered, staring at the unbelievably huge fox in front of him.

"Naruto!" Rikuto barked, whacking his cousin across the back of his head, ignoring the yelp of pain that followed. "What do you do when you meet someone new?"  
>Naruto chuckled nervously. "Uh, hi there. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name?"<p>

The Kyūbi stared down at the two humans before him in consternation; the dismay mostly because of the grumbling older one, still chiding the younger. **_'The older Uzumaki… I can feel it, clearly now that he's this close to the seal. His eyes, I can sense it. But not only that, his chakra! The presence alone, is worth noting, however it feels just like Hashirama's did. Mokuton, eh? Well, he's the first in a very, very long time to treat me like a person.  
>And the little brat, of course he's scared of me, but I can tell the older one has raised him well. Perhaps… Might have a little fun first.'<em>**

"Excuse me, Kyūbi? If I may introduce myself too?" Rikuto timidly asked, stepping forward, only to blink as a claw was shoved bare millimetres from his nose.

"Ooh, good, you're not a pussy. Go on." Kyūbi remarked, retracting his claw, and settling down, to watch them both with baleful crimson, slitted eyes.  
>Not being able to help himself, Rikuto chuckled softly. "Well, I'm Uzumaki Rikuto. It's… An honour to meet a Bijū such as yourself. But," he continued, getting the Kyūbi's full attention, "I can't help but wonder, that hate you feel… Why? I only know of what that bastard Madara did to you, and then Mito-sama sealing you away, which I don't agree with, personally, but I'd like to hear it from you." Rikuto asked, falling into a ready stance when the Kyūbi growled.<p>

**"You want to know why I hate the very essence of humanity? Why I've been hunted, abused, sealed away, hated and ignored purely because of what I am? Answer that yourself, fucking Uzumaki bastard!" **Kyūbi bellowed, once more sending a claw towards the object of his imprisonment, Naruto.

Acting immediately, Rikuto's hands flew into the Serpent seal, and thick wooden branches flew out of the ground, restraining the claw, a good distance away from Naruto.

He then flew through several more hand seals, and once more landed in the Serpent. "**Mokuton: Myōjinmon! (Wood Release: Gate of the Great God!)**" Rikuto roared, flaring his chakra to unbelievable heights, so much that it began to take on a green aura around him, as eleven large green-hued wooden tori gates crashed into the ground, one for each tail, and two for the fox's body, pinning him to the ground.

Despite panting from the strain of performing such a high-calibre jutsu in a mindscape, Rikuto strode towards the seal, now fearless of the restrained Bijū before him.  
>"If you so much as <em>ever<em> threaten my cousin like that _ever_ again, I'll pin you down so fucking hard your tails will lose blood flow and even you will beg for release. Got it, asshole?" Rikuto hissed, Ryūringan spinning to life in his fury.  
>Cursing to himself, Rikuto turned away, and forced his eyes to recede by cutting the chakra to them. Sighing and regaining his composure, he then withdrew his Mokuton jutsu, allowing the Kyūbi to retrieve his claw, and to sit back a bit from the cage, eyeing Rikuto carefully.<p>

"I'm sorry for losing my temper like that, it was unbecoming of me and frankly quite rude on our first meeting. If anything, I think it would be amazing to become friends with him, right, Naruto?" Rikuto apologised, turning to Naruto who nodded readily.

They both then turned to the Kyūbi, who couldn't help but smirk. The young one was kind; he saw the concerned look when the elder pinned him to the ground with that infernal Mokuton. He also was the first, well, approximate first, if you count the elder's rebuke for not introducing himself, to ask his name in centuries.  
>The elder one, however…<em><strong>'Uzumaki Rikuto… You're a mystery. You instantly moved to save your cousin, which is something I have to commend. Yet… Those eyes. To have awakened the Ryūringan in this day and age? Your spirit must indeed be strong. But… The Mokuton as well? Add to that, the fact that he only used it to physically restrain me, not take chakra, or force me to submit it. He even apologised, and wanted to be friends? Uzumaki… The very name means trouble.'<strong>_The fox groaned, and sunk back into a comfortable position.

**"If… If either of you would be able to change the seal, or even, heaven forbid, keep me company, I'd appreciate it. Hell, I might even try not to kill you."** Kyūbi blandly offered, waving his clawed hand about.

Rikuto smiled. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's great. I won't be able to come in as much, seeing as I have to use Naruto as a proxy, but-"  
><strong>"You're an infernal seal master, aren't you? You've suppressed my influence before, so don't lie about it."<strong> The Kyūbi asked, sending a follow-up glare.  
>"Yeah, I am, why?" Rikuto asked, cocking his head to the side.<p>

**"Ugh." **The Kyūbi palmed his eyes, sighing. **"Why don't you just make a chakra link seal, but instead of linking it to him, you link it to the seal? Then you'd be able to come here whenever you liked."** Kyūbi suggested.

Rikuto's eyes widened and immediately began assessing ways to make it happen, accounting for the structure and functions of the **Hakke Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Seal)** as the Kyūbi carefully watched him.

**"You really intend for this to happen, don't you? Damn it all, I feel like trusting you two. This hasn't been uttered for centuries, so feel honoured, you shit stains! My name, my name is Kurama."** Kurama said, his voice lowering to the end, when he told them his name.

What happened next surprised the great fox once more for the day. The two Uzumaki were bowing to him. Bowing!

"Kurama… Thank you for trusting us with your name. As a seal master specialising in space-time ninjutsu, I can understand the fundamental power of a name. I'll design the seal tonight, and I'll apply it to Naruto before his training tomorrow. If I design it right, mental communication should be possible, too." Rikuto brightened at the concept, and a wicked grin began forming across his face.

Kurama just stared impassively. **"You Uzumaki are insane, now leave me alone, I need some sleep after all of that drama. Shoo!"** He then ejected them out of the seal, and Rikuto blinked a few times, deactivating his Ryūringan.

Naruto just fell onto his back, breathing slowly. "Well… That went well, right? He doesn't hate us, and we know his name!" He sat back up excitedly. "We're friends with Kurama, the Kyūbi no Yōko!"

Rikuto could only laugh half-heartedly as he too slumped onto his back, a good portion of his chakra spent, although not nearly as much as when he had first used Mokuton on such a large scale. Not to mention he had restrained a Bijū this time!

Wasting no time, Rikuto whipped out his sealing supplies, and ran through eight different seal designs, before huffing and taking two, and melding elements of each seal into a new one, which he then drew up a partner seal for, although this one had to be on a scroll, so that it could situate itself around Naruto's seal.

Once he was satisfied with his work, he turned to apply it to Naruto, only to find the boy asleep with a blissful smile.

Shrugging, deciding it could wait until the morning, he rolled up the key seals and sealed away his other equipment onto the storage seals tattooed onto his arms, and gently picked up his cousin and used the Hiraishin to return to the house, and after putting Naruto to bed, the elder redhead went out to the balcony from his bedroom, overlooking the Uzumaki estate.

'_Kurama really didn't want to go into his past… I'd bet my monthly ramen supply on it being similar to Naruto's past before I got to him, albeit on a much larger scale and on a much longer timeframe… I'm glad I got this far though. If it means Naruto being able to use his power, then I'll do anything; he's going to need it. However, if it means gaining another friend, then I'm even keener to go through with it._'

* * *

><p>"Oi! Uzu-fucking-maki Naruto, get your ass down here! We promised Kurama we'd get that seal on this morning, and you've got te- training to get to! Come on!" Rikuto hollered from the kitchen, startling Naruto who'd started to fall back asleep after being woken by his alarm clock.<p>

Sitting bolt upright suddenly, despite still being relatively disoriented, Naruto clambered his way into the shower, then got dressed, and flew down the stairs to see Rikuto already there, and as soon as his hand touched his shoulder, they vanished in a crimson flash.

Appearing in, once more, what Naruto had dubbed "the Forest Sealing Cave", Rikuto already had the fūinjutsu apparatus set up, and the array already drawn over two areas, matching keyed chakra connection seals.

"Now Naruto-kun, this seal will only be connect me to the chakra powering the seal, meaning that I'll have direct access to it, and hopefully Kurama can talk to me too, without going into the seal. It will also mean that if he wants to, he can act as a messenger!" Rikuto smirked, already knowing the reaction coming from the Bijū.

**_'Tell him I'd rather dress up in a tutu with Shukaku than be his fucking messenger bird!'_** Kurama's voice rumbled through Naruto's head, startling him greatly but calmed quickly at Rikuto's touch.

"It's okay, he can talk to you mentally, now that you've made contact inside the seal. I'd get to know him if I were you." Rikuto smiled, before ushering him over to the first array, and explaining the concepts. Getting him to remove his shirt and creating two shadow clones, Rikuto laid in his own, letting his clones paint on the remainders of the seals.

"Ready?" Rikuto rolled his head over to peer at his anxious cousin. Getting a shaky nod as an affirmative, Rikuto pulsed his chakra, hissing, "**Fūin (Seal)!**"

Naruto was having a hard time ignoring the tickling sensations his chakra was reporting as the scores of arrays inched onto his skin quickly, before arranging themselves around his **Hakke Fūin Shiki**, before finally settling as tiny inscriptions around each of the eight points of the seal.

Getting up, he walked over to examine Rikuto's own seal, consisting of a much smaller Uzumaki swirl surrounded by larger, identical inscriptions, on the right side of his lower abdomen.  
>"Lookin' good, hey squirt? Now, let's see if it works!" Rikuto grinned, pulse quickening.<br>Focusing on the seal, and sending some chakra into it, he could sense Kurama! It worked!

_'Hey Kurama, can you hear me?'_ He pushed the thought towards the seal; it would only transmit if thoughts were deliberately sent through it.  
><strong><em>'Great, now I have to put up with two annoying brats pestering me. Yes I can hear you.' <em>**Came the rumbling response.  
>A manic grin spreading it's way across his face, he gave Naruto an ecstatic high five.<p>

"I can talk to Kurama now!" He clapped his hands excitedly. "Alright, well now that's done it's time for you to get to your training, squirt!" Rikuto suddenly remembered, grasping a rather dazed Naruto and flashing to the outskirts of the Uzumaki Compound, then switching to his trusty Shunshin to get to Training Ground 7, before giving Naruto a wink and disappearing in the same way.

Naruto turned around looking sheepish to his two teammates that looked at him oddly, Sasuke huffing and turning away to brood, whilst Sakura surprised the both of them by taking out a book and reading it, instead of fawning over Sasuke.  
>"You're late, Naruto!" Sakura scolded, although too engrossed in her book for there to be any malice behind it.<br>"I woke up late and Rikuto-nii had to Shunshin me here to get here as fast as possible." Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.  
>Sakura merely sighed and buried her face in the book.<br>Peering closer at the now visible cover, Naruto found it was a book on an introductory practice in medical ninjutsu.

"You know, I hear rumours about Kakashi-sensei… He's a real believer in teamwork. I think he'll test us on it. If there's an opening any of us make, let's pounce on it, okay? Together we might be able to do whatever it is he wants." Naruto ventured, looking at his teammates and gauging their reactions.

Sakura gave him a glance, and shrugged. "If and when I can, sure. I can't do much though…"  
>Sasuke, however, spared Naruto an appraising look before shrugging and turning away, and Sakura had the beginnings of a scowl curl at the edge of her mouth.<p>

Giving Sakura an approving glance, he sat against one of the three stumps in the clearing, and began reading another Uzumaki book on fūinjutsu, now up to Level Eight of ten in the first volume of four, apparently making Genin by Uzumaki Standards when he completed it. This one began the more advanced aspects of barrier seals, hinting at elemental barriers in the next two books, but laying the foundations for multi-layered and rigged barriers, absorbing all of Naruto's attention, so much so that he started with a yelp when Kakashi decided to show up half an hour later in a smoke Shunshin.

Quickly stashing his book away and coughing to preserve his dignity, Naruto turned to Kakashi in time to hear Sakura yell at him.  
>"YOU'RE LATE, TARDY-SENSEI!" She crossed her arms with a scowl.<br>Holding his hands up in a placating gesture, Kakashi merely eye-smiled. "You see, I actually have an excuse!" He pleaded, still holding his eye-smile.  
>Sakura fixed him with a glare, before relenting. "Oh, well… Why so late then, huh?"<p>

Kakashi chuckled. "I had to help an old lady with her groceries, then I walked across the path of a black cat, so I had to take the long way around the village."  
>Sakura's mouth twitched whilst her brain tried to comprehend the sheer bullshit she'd been presented with.<br>Naruto deadpanned.  
>Sasuke looked more confused than he had been angry moments before.<p>

"Well, now that I'm here," Kakashi started, but paused to pointedly ignore Sakura's coughed 'finally', "we're going to do a test. You see, the Academy only weeds out _potential_ Genin, meaning that you're only a candidate Genin at this point. This survival exercise, is to survive against me!" Kakashi explained, never losing his original eye-smile.  
>He pulled two bells out of his pouch, and jingled them in front of his Genin.<p>

"You must obtain a bell to pass. Those who do not will go back to the Academy. That's right, this exam has a minimum 33.3% failure rate. You must come at me, a Jōnin, with the intent to kill in order to accomplish this task." Kakashi explained, fixing the bells to his belt again, and facing his anxious but ready Genin.

"Begin." He muttered, pleased when all bar one Genin flocked to the bushes.  
>"You know, Naruto, a ninja is meant to hide, and strike whilst the enemy is unaware." Kakashi droned, pulling out his book. Rikuto may have trained his cousin very well, but the simple fact was that a Genin shouldn't be able to do much damage.<p>

Regardless, he was pleasantly surprised when after three seconds, Kakashi felt like putting the kid through his paces, putting away his book, in order to test the limits of his student's well-developing taijutsu style.  
><em>'Uzuken… He's learning it very well, and Rikuto's modified the stances and moves to allow for his build, but left them open enough for him to change on his own as he grows. Amazing.'<em>  
>Quickly growing tired of the taijutsu bout, Naruto smirked, before whipping through handseals.<p>

"Now, Sasuke, Sakura! **Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryu: Uradōri! (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Back Alley)**" Naruto shouted, slamming both hands onto the ground, spidery sealing arrays spewed forth from the contact points, split seconds later, forming an open ended barrier, with Kakashi at the opposite end of the barrier.

No sooner than the barrier had been erected, Sasuke sprinted forward, already completed his hand seals. "**Katon: Gōkakyuu no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)**" He roared, letting loose an impressive fireball, that rolled through the barrier, coming to climactic end at the closed end of the barrier, shooting out of the top.

Peering around, the two boys couldn't see their sensei anywhere, confused. Naruto, however, was only putting on an act. He knew Kakashi-sensei had made a shadow clone underground, and sent it off to take out Sakura. Doing the same, he formed a hand seal.  
>"<strong>Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!<strong>" Wordlessly sending off the clone, he 'acted' on instinct and jumped, but not before feeling a deep tug on his chakra, bringing unbidden words to his mouth, and holding his hands out in front of him, he shouted:

"**In'yōton: Shōgekiha! (Yin Release: Shock Wave)**", resulting in a blue-green burst of chakra flying from his hands, slamming into the ground with incredible force, leaving a building-sized crater and throwing up a smokescreen of dust and rapidly falling chunks of earth and dirt. When the dust cleared, no one could be seen.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was in the upper branches of a tree, breathing heavily, with his right sleeve torn, but otherwise no visible injuries, but bruising would definitely develop.<br>He cursed lividly. He had no idea that Naruto could use Yin Release, nor on that scale, but something told him that Naruto didn't, either.  
>Taking a moment to gather himself, he took off once more, this time with more chakra to his senses. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of the Yin Release again.<p>

His three Genin, however, weren't much better off.  
>"How the hell did you do that?!" Sasuke demanded, puffing himself from hauling Naruto's ass out of there, whilst the redhead in question slumped against the tree, visibly exhausted.<p>

Trembling, Naruto slid up the sleeve on his right arm, and nicking his thumb on his canine, swiped the blood down the seal array, which glowed the same colour as his chakra blast from earlier, but dispersed up his arm, and over his body.  
>Taking a deep breath, he sat up and looked at his teammates.<p>

"Rikuto-nii warned me that I might be able to do that, so he had me create chakra storage seals on my arms. I'm back to about ¾ of my reserves. That, was the Yin Release, or the ability to mold my dense chakra into physical objects that have temporal form. One great example of this is my mother's Chakra Chains." Naruto explained, looking around, sniffing.

"Get down!" He shouted, flinging up an arm around Sakura when she didn't move, and one around Sasuke for safe measure. Trembling, Naruto turned around.  
>"Not this time, sensei!" Naruto snickered, before all three Genin dispelled in three lots of chakra smoke.<p>

Startling, Kakashi spun around in time to avoid Sakura taking a dive for the bells, and in time to move from the trap she'd set, but not in time for the combined assault of Naruto and Sasuke, moving surprisingly well around each other, evident that the Uzumaki and Uchiha styles worked well alongside the other.

Deciding enough was enough, he drove off the two Genin with two well-timed kicks into their midsections, sending them rolling away on the ground, just in time for the alarm clock he'd set earlier, to go off.  
>Leading the Genin back to the clearing, he explained the next part.<p>

"I'm trying Sakura to a tree here because she did the least amount of work today. There are two bentō sets there. Do NOT feed Sakura at all." Kakashi warned, before disappearing in a Shunshin.

The two boys exchanged worried glances, but began to eat slowly until they heard Sakura's stomach rumble. Sighing, Sasuke was the first to offer his bentō to Sakura, who shook her head, until Naruto sat back on his haunches, and offered some food for her out on chopsticks.

"Sakura, we need all three of us to get to Kakashi-sensei. If he can give Rikuto-nii a good run for his money, then we stand more of no chance at all with the three of us. So eat, we need you at full strength." Naruto explained, casting a worried glance around the clearing for their sensei. Not finding him, he turned back to Sasuke also offering food. He didn't get to complete the gesture, however, as Kakashi exploded into presence, with a violently swirling smoke Shunshin.

"What the HELL did I tell you? You trash, ignoring orders I gave you!" Kakashi roared, raising his killing intent, but dropping it mere moments later, eye-smiling. "You all pass."

Naruto sat back against his stump, relieved, whereas Sasuke released a deep breath, before cutting Sakura free, much to the pinkette's delight.

"You three, follow me." Kakashi said, quietly. He turned, and led his first team towards the Memorial Stone.  
>Once there, he took a few moments to stare at the names inscribed on it. "Here lie the names and memories of all Konoha's greatest heroes. Those who died in defence of our village. All of my closest friends are here." He said, voice hollow.<p>

"Something I now live by, was taught to me by one of the people here. _'Those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.'_ It took… A lot for me to understand that, and you three being mature enough to understand that, even by Naruto's blatant hint before the start of the test, is why I passed you today. Meet me at the clearing at 7am tomorrow morning, we'll begin some training before some missions." Kakashi notified his Genin, barely suppressing a dark chuckle at what those 'missions' entailed, and wanted to watch Naruto crack under the pressure.

Giving them a mock salute, the man disappeared in a Shunshin, leaving Naruto to stare at the stone, particularly at the names of his parents. Blinking away any betraying emotions, he turned to his team, to find them looking at him curiously.

"Well guys, we did really well today. I think it'll be great working with you guys. And that **Katon** earlier was totally kickass, Sasuke. Oh, that trap, Sakura! Uzumaki standards aren't too far from you just yet." Naruto exclaimed, then rubbed his chin sagely. "Perhaps not… But still. See you guys tomorrow!" Naruto chirped, also disappearing in a Shunshin, leaving Sasuke both respecting his new teammate and wanting to burn him alive for showing off that jutsu, and Sakura burning at the cheeks from her redheaded teammate's praise.

Suprising Sasuke, Sakura simply gave a wave and a meek "Bye, Sasuke-kun!" before running off, leaving the Uchiha avenger to his thoughts.  
>"This… Isn't what I expected at all…" He muttered, kicking a rock out of his path.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what do you all think? Be sure to leave a review to let me know! See ya!<strong>

**~Kurien**


	9. Chapter 9: Waves of Trouble Keep Coming

**Okay, on with the Author's Note, I get it.**

**I've had limited amounts of inspiration, and this is as far as I've been able to go. I refuse to pump out bullshitted plot, so until I can get into gear, updates will be just as, if not slower. Sorry all!**

**Again, I can't thank the people that have stuck around with me, and stuck along for the ride. You're the best!**

* * *

><p>"Oi nii-san! Where are you?! I've got something to- OOF!" Naruto grunted, extracting himself from his cousin's excited embrace.<br>"What, squirt? Did you get a girl today?" He leered, Naruto sweatdropping. "No, you stupid pervert, I used **In'yōton** today!" Naruto beamed.

Rikuto looked down at his cousin, grin stretching from ear to ear. Quick as a whip, he seized him in another hug, but this time ruffling his hair roughly.  
>"I'm so proud of you, squirt! What technique did you use?"<p>

Naruto pulled himself away and rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm, it was… **In'yōton: Shōgekiha! (Yin Release: Shock Wave)** Yeah, that was it!"  
>"Hmm, good. I was watching the whole time, but I wanted to see if the Style had affected your memory at all. In fact, using such a technique like that right off the bat means you've got a pretty strong affinity for it, which isn't surprising in the least, given your Uzumaki lineage."<p>

Hitting his palm with his fist, Rikuto grew a dark and menacing aura.  
>"You know what this means, lil squirt? Out the back, give me 50, then I want six pillars of solid chakra done by the end of the day. Move it!" He barked, watching in amusement as his cousin scrambled out the back door to complete the near impossible task.<p>

* * *

><p>Kakashi stood blended in the treetops, switching between casting longing glances at the Memorial Stone, and peering through the foliage at his impatient Genin. Well, the two that were attentive to the real world, anyway.<p>

"Naruto, how do you even know what the hell is going on while you're reading those scrolls?" Sasuke asked, huffing impatiently.  
>"Well, Rikuto-nii used to throw rocks at me whilst expecting me to write out seals… He said if I wanted to become a battle seal master, then I'd have to avoid kunai and whatnot all the time." Naruto answered offhandedly, frowning slightly as he was reading, trailing off in thought.<p>

Sakura sighed, and palmed her face. "Hey, Naruto, I did some research on your clan, aren't they all really cool sensors? Why don't you try and find Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, casting a curious glance at her redheaded teammate.

Naruto looked up with a sheepish grin. "Perhaps I should… Yeah…" He chuckled, stashing away his scroll, and glancing into the foliage.  
>"It's a passive ability, rare even in my clan. I knew where he was as soon as I wasn't concentrating on something else." He explained, shrugging.<br>Sasuke raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Sakura on the other hand slapped a hand over her mouth in shock.  
>"Eh, it's fine, he did it to help me in the long run." Naruto placated the girl, turning before Kakashi decided to show up in a shunshin, three hours late on the dot.<p>

"Oh my, you cute little Genin look cranky today! I know the perfect fix! Team building exercises!" Kakashi eye-smiled, holding both hands in a thumbs-up, leaving all three Genin to stare at him dumbly.

"Okay, to start off with, I want you to…" Kakashi began, putting his Genin to work, with basic exercises to build rapport between them. Hours later when Naruto trudged home through the front door to find Rikuto repainting the lounge room, he would describe it as simply worse than any training exercise his cousin had ever put him through, simply causing the elder Uzumaki to chuckle darkly.

It was some time after that, did Rikuto find Naruto on the roof – his second favourite thinking spot – mulling over the day with a sour air.  
>Dropping into a cross-legged position beside him, Rikuto sighed. "Rough day, squirt?"<br>Naruto huffed, pulling his legs closer to him. "It went fine, really. A little _too_ well. Aside from the fact that Sasuke is even more cold towards us because I've unlocked one kekkei genkai in front of him, and revealed a second, purely because he hasn't unlocked his Sharingan yet. I know what happened to his clan, and if anything I just want to give the guy my friendship, so he isn't alone. I know what it's like, and if I ever lost you, my family, I don't know what I'd do."

Rikuto remained silent for a few moments, closing his eyes. "It's… It's what unlocked the final stage of my eyes, what you're afraid of. When the Uzumaki monks that were raising me and my brother were slaughtered, my eyes… The third tomoe, in my eyes, is equivalent to the Mangekyō stage of the Uchiha dōjutsu, the one I told you about."

Naruto looked at his cousin with unhidden horror. "Who… Who killed them?"

Rikuto sighed, and looked away. "I never told you that my eyes are in fact, mine. My brother and I, we were so close… But when we were both very small, my brother contracted a fatal disease, and soon perished. Fearing the worst, they removed his eyes shortly before they became infected, and transplanted them into my own body, without me being told until I'd unlocked the Mangekyō, which I did by being informed of this. I believed that it was somehow my fault, and thus suffered the mental breakdown that triggered my third stage. Once this had happened, I was soon knocked unconscious and my original eyes re-transplanted. My brother's eyes are safely kept in a secure location to this day… That day, when I'd come to, I… I killed them in a rage. I spawned so many chains… They… I killed them all, and because of my dōjutsu, I remember it all too clearly. Naruto, I value family so much because I threw it all away in rage. I guard my temper so much because… Because I'm so fucking _scared_ of what I'd do if I lost control. What you've seen… It's nothing compared to the sheer rage that overtook me that day. I completely released my chakra, and the pressure I exuded was crushing my own body. It was what stopped me from destroying everything else, in the end. I'm glad it did, because I had what the main branch of the Uzumaki were able to recover before the village was ransacked."

Naruto simply sat, unable to form thoughts, let alone the mental capacity to voice them. Instead, he edged closer and gripped his cousin, unconsciously exuding calm chakra.

Rikuto chuckled softly. "I'm so proud of you, squirt. Tomorrow, if you pull Sasuke aside, and explain why he should care, perhaps he will listen. If not, then perhaps we'll have to wait. Now, I've got to go." He abruptly stood, unsealing ANBU gear, finally placing an _oni_ mask on his face.

"You're… _Konoha no Midori Oni_, nii-san…" Naruto looked up at his cousin, now dressed in pitch black ANBU armour, and had his sword mounted on his backplate, in the place of the regular tanto, however it was the chilling green glowing pair of Ryūringan eyes staring at him though the oni mask that froze him in place.

"You are never to divulge this information, squirt. I showed you because I think that you should know. I can't bear to keep such things from you." Rikuto crouched down to look his cousin in the eye, tomoe spinning lazily. "You need to sleep."

* * *

><p><em>Come to think of it, I haven't seen or heard of anything to do with Rikuto-nii's ANBU duties since the bastard knocked me out a week ago… At least he taught me a new jutsu to make up for it.<em> Naruto mused, pausing to allow Sasuke to dump his shovel load of shit into the cart before following suit.

While he hadn't made any progress with his teammate, the latter seemed to appreciate the change in attitude, if the nods and reduced insults were anything to go by. Well, who was he to reject small miracles?

"Well, my cute little Genin! We're done! After this, you lot clean up and meet me at the Hokage Tower in thirty minutes for another mission!" Kakashi chirped, snapping his book shut and disappearing in a Shunshin.

"Well, catch ya!" Naruto waved, before also disappearing in a Shunshin, whilst Sasuke and Sakura stared, dumbfounded.  
>Sakura threw down her shovel. "That bastard! Leaving us here like that!"<p>

Meanwhile, after deciding not to be late, Kakashi decided to wait for his Genin at the Hokage Tower, running into Rikuto, whom was decked out in ANBU gear, returning from a mission, a bloody one if you took into account the blood splattered across his greaves.

"Yo, Oni!" Kakashi greeted, his face still merged with the pages of his book.  
>The masked operative simply returned a wave, although paused. "I trust that your teaching is actually happening? Teamwork can only get them so far, and it's useless to combine three amounts of nothing, to try and be greater than nothing."<p>

With nary more than a mock salute, he vanished, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts, which meant he was unable to react in time before Naruto was able to poke his ear.

"Are you deaf, Kakashi-sensei? Aren't we getting another mission?" The redhead crouched on a pillar beside the masked jōnin, deadpanning.  
>Snapping his book shut, Kakashi started walking to the Hokage's Office. "Sure are!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh hell the fuck no! Not another shitty D-rank miss-" Naruto's cursing was suddenly muffled as Sakura clamped her hand over his mouth, and whacked his head with the other.<p>

"My apologies, Hokage-sama! Our teammate forgot his manners pills this morning!" She ground out the last part, giving a death glare to the sullen redhead in her grip.

Chuckling, the Hokage waved it off. "Well, if you're sure they're ready, Kakashi, I _do_ have one available, one that should be perfectly suitable. What do you say?"  
>Keeping in mind Rikuto's words earlier, and the fact that they needed at least <em>some<em> field experience, even if it was a measly C-rank, Kakashi nodded in response.

Hiruzen buzzed his intercom. "Come in, Tazuna-san."

In walked a grey-haired, bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals and carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head.  
>All looked in order, until the client started to sway, and took great difficulty in transferring his gaze from the ninja assembled in front of him.<p>

"You'th the nin'a th'supposed be protect'in me? A bunch'a brats and a fuckin' scarecruh? I asked fer' real ninja, n't this…" Tazuna slurred, particularly eyeing off Naruto. "An' whas dis' lil squirt gun do?"

Naruto darted forward, and slapped the bottle of sake from his hands and levelled his KI.  
>"Only <em>one<em> person can call me that, and you're not even an iota of the man he is. So how about you shut up so we can hear what's coming over your drunken ramblings?" Naruto sneered, only to be restrained and whacked once more by Sakura, whom apologised profusely once more.

Kakashi palmed his face, and sighed. "Come on Team 7, we may as well leave now. Let's go."

Once they reached the gate, Kakashi ordered them into formation, with him at the front, Sakura on the left, Sasuke on the right and Naruto behind, as the sensor.

The trip was mostly uneventful, until a few hours out of the village, Naruto and Kakashi noticed two puddles on the road.  
><em>So that's where they're hiding, eh?<em> Naruto mused, crouching and clapping his hands together, issuing two glowing yellow chakra chains with then shot into the puddles, which then blossomed red as two masked Kirigakure ninja shot out, both clutching severe injuries; one had a gaping wound on his left lung, whilst the other had one going through what was likely his liver.

Both gritted their teeth and prepared to attack, but Sasuke had regained his bearings and taken them both out with a spinning kick, before Naruto restrained them with chakra suppression and paralysis seals.

Their eyes widened as an ominous shadow loomed over them, foreshadowing the arrival of a cheery-faced Kakashi.  
>"Now, how's about you two tell us why the hell you're after the bridge builder, yeah?"<p>

One of the two Mist ninja simply narrowed his eyes in what Kakashi could only interpret as anger, and so Kakashi simply gave one a palm-thrust to his wound, and glared at the other.

"G- Gozu… We… Fuck y- you!" The other stammered out, before choking on his own blood pooling in his lungs.  
>Sighing, Kakashi stood to face his worried Genin. "Well, that was handled brilliantly. Good work reacting quick enough there with your chains, Naruto! Moving to protect the client, but not quite making it there… Nice effort… I think. Sasuke your reaction was also commendable. We need to work on things like that after this." Kakashi muttered the last part under his breath, before turning to Tazuna.<p>

"Okay, so, unless you want us to turn back, you'll spill the beans. 'Why would we turn back?', you ask? Simple; those two here are Gozu and Meizu, B-ranked missing-nin from Kirigakure. We're well within our rights to turn back now, unless the genin team collectively decides to continue the mission." Kakashi fixed Tazuna with a grey stare.

"Oh please! We're under fierce oppression from the shipping magnate, Gatō! He's locked down all trade, and has his goons sucking the country dry of all resources! This bridge I'm buiding would be enough to break his monopoly on Wave, and provide hope for our people! Please, you've got to help! We can sort something out for the fees! It's because of our situation we could only afford a C-rank!" Tazuna babbled, getting more distraught the more he continued.

"Well, you've heard the man, what do you three think?" Kakashi turned to his genin who watched with varying degrees of attachment.

"Considering we have you here, and we're capable of at least protecting ourselves and the client from bandits and other such scum, from a basic perspective there's no harm in continuing. Plus, it will look good for the village, having continued with the mission to help them out, right?" Naruto spoke up, looking to this teammates for support.

Not wanting to be outdone, Sasuke gave a noncommittal grunt and nodded. Sakura, with stars in her eyes, nodded vigorously.  
>"Hmph, only living to impress your precious Sasuke-kun. You haven't changed at all. On second-thoughts, with Miss Lovelust here, perhaps we should reconsider." Naruto snorted, glancing at his teammate with unmasked disdain.<br>"Hey! I've done a fair bit to improve, shithead! Who do you think you are, judging me like that, huh?" Sakura screamed, throwing a punch, before realising what she'd done, too late.

Catching her fist, switching grip, and then knocking a leg out from underneath her, Naruto then pulled her arm around behind her back, pulling hard.  
>"Naruto! Let her go!" Kakashi barked, taking a step forward.<br>"Sensei, she needs to learn that pretty sparkles in her hair isn't going to lull her handsome opponent, or the nice smelling fucking perfume in her hair isn't going to make the enemy squad swoon. Who am I to judge you? I'm someone on your team that shares the risk of life, just as you do! I will not stand by and have you risk Sasuke's, Kakashi-sensei and my lives with your fangirlish abandon!" Naruto hissed, letting her go, and to fall into the dirt.

Turning to Kakashi, he stood at attention. "Sensei, I refuse to continue this mission due to the excessive risk that Haruno-san presents to not only the team, but the client's safety as well. I can make a very durable clone; one that will be far more useful than she is, and another to take her back to Konoha. I can only do this under your orders, however."

Kakashi looked absolutely stricken. All those days he thought Sakura had put some effort into improving, only to find he absolutely agreed with his Uzumaki student.  
>"I'm going to have to answer some tough questions when we get back, but yes, do what you suggested. Let's get moving." Kakashi sighed, turning away.<p>

Sakura, meanwhile, was in tears on the ground. "I… I thought I'd done so much!" She mumbled into her arms, shaking with her sobs.  
>Naruto sighed, and created two Shadow Clones, pumping enough chakra into each that it felt like he was doing the Multi-Shadow Clone variant.<p>

"Clone one, you're coming with us. Use the Henge technique to disguise as her. Clone two, bind her in the same seals we used on the nuke-nin and take her back to Konoha. Explain the situation. Go." Naruto ordered his clones, turning back to his team to avoid seeing his clone knock Sakura out and bind her with seals.

A few hours into the journey, a mist so heavy it felt like they were wading through water rolled in with the aura of a graveyard.  
>Acting on instinct upon sensing a hostile chakra signature, Naruto flung a kunai at it, only to find he'd hit a white rabbit.<p>

"Wait, if that's white in this climate, it must mean it's domesticated…" Sasuke murmured, before Naruto pulled him down to the ground, Kakashi similarly having reacted in time to avoid a spinning zanbato that would have decapitated them, coming to a stop with a dull _thunk_ halfway through a tree trunk.  
>A split second later, a man appeared in a shunshin, peering ominously down at them.<p>

The ninja was a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He was wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face, and his forehead protector sideways on his head, with his chest only covered by a belt to which he must have attached his sword, wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern typical of Kirigakure and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers.

Kakashi pulled up his headband, and to Sasuke's surprise, revealed a fully mature Sharingan in his left eye socket.  
>"Now you know why he has the moniker of the Copy Ninja, Sasuke. But, eyes on the opponent, one Momochi Zabuza, A-ranked nuke-nin from Kirigakure. Known as the <em>Kirigakure no Kijin<em>, there's a special graduation story for this one." Naruto muttured, reaching for his pouch, but stopped when he heard Zabuza speak.

"Oh hoho! I'm so famous even your little play ninja knows me? I'm honoured, you little shit! Actually, you should listen, he sounds almost like he knows the textbook! So, the bridge-builder, if you don't mind?" Zabuza sank into a crouch, cocking his head to the side mockingly.

"Not going to happen. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, get into the manji formation, protect the client!" Kakashi barked, shooting off towards Zabuza with two kunai drawn, entering into a swift battle of reflexes with the swordsman, meanwhile Naruto and Sasuke jumped back towards Tazuna, whilst 'Sakura' took 'her' position too, the clone making sure to quiver a lot, too.

"Good show, Kakashi, even taking out your Sharingan the moment you saw me, how touching! But you can't see through this!" Zabuza sneered, forming a hand seal. "**Kirigakure no Jutsu! **(Hiding in the Mist Technique)"

The mist from earlier thickened rapidly, to the point the Genin could barely see at all. "Eight points. I'm sure you're running through them all from your books, eh, pinky? You look like the useless type." Zabuza's disembodied voice echoed from all around them, as Zabuza's killing intent saturated the area, oppressing down with a sickeningly evil force.

Shaking, Sasuke drew a kunai, aiming to stop the feeling, no matter what. As he was about to pull it back for a strike, Kakashi spoke up.  
>"Don't worry, I'll protect you with my life! I won't let my teammates die!" He shouted, ducking under a swipe from Zabuza, lashing out with a stab to the side, which dispelled the <strong>Mizu Bunshin<strong> (Water Clone) that had attacked, leaving him open to a bisecting slash from Zabuza, also dispelling the Mizu Bunshin that Kakashi had created.

"Hmm, copying my technique in this mist! Impressive!" Zabuza called, jumping back from the clearing mist, due to his misplaced attention.  
>"Bah!" Kakashi snorted. "Don't insult me, I've known that basic technique for a long time. You don't live through a war and ANBU without learning it, especially with this eye."<p>

Running forwards, he didn't notice a Mizu Bunshin rise up from a puddle behind him, and hit a kick that although Kakashi blocked, it forced him onto the water's surface, only to be trapped.

"Hah! Really? It was that easy, that I could trap you in my **Suiro no Jutsu** (Water Prison Technique)?" Zabuza laughed, making three Mizu Bunshin with his spare hand, the other occupied in maintaining the technique in which Kakashi desperately yelled, "Run! His bunshin can't travel-" but was cut off as the technique encapsulated him, completing it.

Naruto grit his teeth, looking at Sasuke. Neither of them had learnt very many ninjutsu besides Sasuke's **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**, and suddenly he was feeling rather inadequate. He had his Mokuton, but he didn't know how to manifest that, or how to even use it if he managed to do that.

"Sasuke, if I go up and occupy him with my Chains, can you do some magic with fuuma shuriken? One has to be a disguised clone. I'll create that and send it over once I engage him, so he can't suspect it. Once you've got a clone in there, it can tag him with a paralysis seal. I won't be able to apply it properly, so it will only last a few seconds before it'll break. Sound good?" Naruto muttered to Sasuke, clapping his hands together, yellow chains shooting out of his back, wrapping around his arms several times, and hung limply from his hands.

Sasuke nodded, "Fine, I'll take the lead though." He muttered, drawing a brace of shuriken and throwing it at Zabuza, giving Naruto an opening to shoot forward, and fling his chains at Zabuza in arcs designed to sever limbs, creating a clone in the process, which transformed into a fuuma shurkien, that he then threw to Sasuke. Catching it, spinning on his heel and flinging it, Naruto dove out of the way, dispelling his chains, having reached his limit with them.

Zabuza stepped out of the way, still maintaining his arm inside the technique. "Predictable academy strategy, please." He huffed, but stared in shock as he could no longer move, watching in surprise as Naruto, who had placed the seal on Zabuza's back, kicked his arm away, enough to dispel the seal but also free Kakashi, who then stepped in front of Naruto.

"Well done boys, I'll take it from here. So, Zabuza, a couple of Academy-fresh genin made you drop your technique. Perhaps losing your touch?" Kakashi taunted, rolling his shoulders.

"I decided to give you another shot, no big deal!" Zabuza retorted, raising his hands into hand seals, which Kakashi mirrored.

"Don't downplay the situation, they bested you! Admit it!" Kakashi corrected, sending an identical **Suiton: Daibakufu** (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique) right at Zabuza, a split moment earlier, sending the missing-nin careening right into a tree, where he was peppered with senbon, the assailant showing themselves to be a Kirigakure ANBU agent, who thanked them and disappeared with Zabuza's body.

Naruto had to leap forward to catch Kakashi, who had collapsed.

"What's wrong with him? Chakra exhaustion?" Sasuke asked, peering up at Kakashi, who was passed out on Naruto's back.  
>"Yeah, he's used a lot of his supply, he's got just enough so he can recover in a few days' time. Reach over and pull down his headband, will ya'?" Naruto asked, hefting Kakashi so he could carry him properly.<p>

"Oi, clone! Let's go! Sasuke, can you get the client from the bushes? I'm assuming he knows where he lives." Naruto sighed, turning to keep walking in the same direction, but not before pausing and thinking back to the small time he'd had to shower before this mission back at the village.

_As Naruto was about run out the door, one of Rikuto's tri-pronged kunai lodged itself in the doorframe right next to his head._

_"Oi, you idiot! What's this for?!" Naruto spun around with the kunai in his hands, ready to run Rikuto through with it.  
>"I've finished creating several with my formula on them, so take one if you need me. However… Do NOT use it unless you really, really need me! I could be on a mission, or with someone in bed! Now go, squirt!" Rikuto went to throw another one, but his little cousin had already run off with a yelp.<em>

Managing to smile at his older cousin's antics despite the situation, he prepared himself for a lecture, throwing down a tri-pronged kunai laced with his chakra.

Seconds later, an irate Uzumaki Rikuto appeared in a green flash, and went to whack Naruto, before he noticed Kakashi on his back. He relented with a sheepish grin.  
>"Well, I was about to berate you for using that unless the situation was dire, but I'm guessing as Kakashi's out cold on your back, you're in deep shit. Right, so Sasuke's not here, and yes, I heard about Sakura. Nice little uproar you caused too, squirt. I need to talk to you about that, too." Rikuto added the last part in a dark undertone, stooping to stash away his kunai in Naruto's pouch again before Sasuke could see it.<p>

"Hey, what are you doing here, Uzumaki-san?" Sasuke stopped abruptly, pointing his finger at the older Uzumaki.  
>"Oh, I was on a scouting mission around the area, and sent a clone back to complete the mission." Rikuto smoothly lied, waving a hand, then growing serious.<br>"Seeing as Kakashi's incapacitated, I'll assume leadership of this mission. Naruto, brief me." Rikuto ordered, following the sullen man that he assumed to be their client.

"Okay, so Tazuna-san here lied about the mission scope, we've been attacked twice, once by B-ranked missing nin duo Gozu and Meizu, and now by Momochi Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei was about to finish him off after battling him, but this Kiri ANBU agent killed him with senbon and took his body away. Didn't even say anything to us." Naruto reported, pausing for a moment. "Uhh, taichō, could you carry him? He's quite heavy…" He trailed off, huffing in annoyance.

"Nope! That's what you underlings are for. Think of it as a strength exercise!" Rikuto answered, trudging ahead, but stopping. "Wait, did you say the ANBU agent _took_ the body? Where exactly did he get hit with senbon? Quickly!" Rikuto spun around, and gripped Naruto by the shoulders.

"Uhh, in the neck, around about here," Naruto indicated the spots, "and yeah, he just took it." At this news, Rikuto palmed his face.

"Aw shit, I didn't want to have to fight that asshole! Alright, standard hunter-nin protocol is to behead the body, then incinerate it immediately afterwards, on the spot. Zabuza's still out there, and Kakashi's out cold. Just fucking great!" Rikuto cursed, stomping forwards, a dark aura growing around him as he steadily increased his vulgar efforts.

"So, Sasuke-"  
>"Nope." Sasuke whistled, walking past.<p>

"Fuck."  
>"LANGUAGE!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaand that wraps up Chapter Nine. Catch ya!<strong>

**~ Kurien**


	10. Chapter 10: Battling Love to Hatred

**Okay, updated alias to match and unify my identity. Sorry this is so short, too!**

**That, and finally back after months of writer's block, inactivity and university bullshit. I've glossed over the Wave Arc here, purely because it was one of my lesser favourite parts in the series anyway. That reminds me, the series ended... *breaks down in manly tears of manliness***

**I digress. I've put in a fair amount of OOC character development in this chapter to pave the way for future shenanigans that I totally haven't planned out. Like, no shit, I haven't planned anything beyond this chapter. I wing it every week.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>After no small amounts of complaining from Naruto and subsequent ignoring on Rikuto and Sasuke's parts, the ragtag group finally made it to where, in a thickening mist, a boatsman waited with his humble vessel by the shore.<p>

"Relax, it's me. These are the ninja we hired from Konoha. Just get me home and we'll go from there." Tazuna murmured, suddenly serious and mentally capable.

"How far?" Rikuto hissed, throwing a look at Tazuna. The man eyed the mist warily.  
>"No more than ten minutes at the most. This is where I fear the most, with this mist."<p>

Rikuto agreed with the man, but he wasn't about to vocalise it. After some time with their senses on high alert, the man hurried them off his boat and didn't waste a second before hightailing it out of there.  
>Naruto sighed inwardly as he hefted Kakashi inside. If it wasn't for Rikuto-nii's harsh training, he probably would've required help to heft the man inside, and on to a hastily-erected bed, courtesy of Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami.<p>

Rikuto sat the three genin down as soon as Kakashi was laid to rest upstairs.  
>"Now, there's something I want to warn you two about. All Jōnin know that standard ANBU procedure upon killing a target is to remove the head and destroy the body on the spot. In addition to this, what weapon was used to take him down?" Rikuto prodded, waiting for a reaction, which he shortly got from both boys.<p>

Sasuke's eyes widened as the realisation hit, whereas Naruto groaned. "He's alive, isn't he?"

Rikuto sighed in defeat. "Yes, and it means that you two are going to take on his accomplice, whilst I engage Zabuza with a hopefully battle-ready Kakashi. I have some seals that will dilute my chakra enough for him to use, which should ease his natural recovery."

Rikuto dropped his hand from rubbing his chin. "That also means that we're going to have to step things up. I assume Kakashi hasn't taught you the tree-walking exercise, Sasuke?"  
>At the raven's blank stare, Rikuto slapped his forehead. "And this is why I insisted you learn it, Naruto. Okay, Sasuke, outside with me. I'll make a clone for you to work on your water walking, Naruto."<p>

Once outside, Rikuto ordered the 'Sakura' clone to stay with Kakashi, as he made one of his own. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**."

After some time demonstrating the technique to the young Uchiha, Rikuto activated his dōjutsu and examined the boy's chakra flow.

"Less force, Sasuke! Let the chakra help you, don't fight it!" Rikuto called, seeing near instant results as he began to instantly climb faster and maintain that rate.  
>'<em>Pfft, this is too easy. Naruto isn't nearly stupid, but he's more of a joy to teach than this kid, even the various Genin I've taught. He's a genius, for sure. I wonder if his learning curve will flatten out after this. He's ahead of his peers, but how will his peers compete now, with specialised training?<em>' Rikuto pondered, thumbing a small rock, taking in its rough edges.

Sasuke was panting hard, and was about to run the gauntlet again, only to feel a light hand on his shoulder. Startling, he met the violet eyes of his pseudo-sensei.  
>"That's enough for now, Sasuke. Your chakra is running fairly low and we're in enemy territory. It would not do to run any lower. Besides," Rikuto cocked his head to the side, "I think we need to have a chat."<p>

Sasuke tensed at the last part. "Here?"

Rikuto's eyes were morose, and he looked almost apologetic as his eyes bled green and began to spin, a leaf from a tree dropping at eye level. "**Tsukuyomi.**"

Sasuke screamed, and began scrabbling back from the redheaded demon who suddenly had the image of Uchiha Itachi overlaid in his vision of the man.  
>He didn't get the time to feel the red bubbling hate that surged within him, as the same man crouched before him, hand on shoulder again.<p>

Suddenly, he could feel the man's chakra. Green, wispy flames spread from him and licked at Sasuke's shirt. Initially frightened, he batted it away, only to find it spread to his hand.

"It… Isn't burning?" Sasuke looked back at Rikuto in confusion.

Rikuto simply smiled. "My chakra is wonderful in the way that it's very calming when applied like that. The flames, no one has been able to explain. Now, I'm really sorry to scare you like that. If I had've known that it would have had such an effect on you, I would've avoided it." Rikuto sighed as he sat down cross-legged.

Sasuke took a deep few breaths to calm himself even further, and took note of where they were. Soft green grass carpeted the small area of a valley they were in, as an ancient oak tree sheltered them from a gentle sun.

"This is the same technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan, **Tsukuyomi**, yes. I assume you've read of my eye in the Uchiha library?" Upon getting a shaky nod, he continued. "Then you'll know how this is possible. I know the basis of what happened the night of the Uchiha Massacre. If only I'd have made it to the village even a week earlier, I could've done something to save your clan." Rikuto punched the ground in frustration.

"He… He killed them all! Only to test himself! What bullshit!" Sasuke broke like a dam, crystalline tears falling before he knew what happened.  
>Looking up, he feared seeing the same look of pity he received from everyone else, only to find a grin. Surprise gave way to confusion.<p>

"Expecting pity, hey? You're not going to get that from me, bud. Listen, while we're in here and I have a lot more chakra to burn, I want to tell you a story. Come, walk with me." He flew to his feet and spun, walking away without giving Sasuke a chance.  
>After falling into step with the Uzumaki man, Sasuke took the time to take in his presence. Once he did, he was standing beside a sun. Chakra in amounts beyond his comprehension thundered underneath a calm surface, but it felt so otherworldly; he could relax with it around as it was so strong. Nothing could come close. But shining through that was the man's heart. Beats were thunder, strength given by massive amounts of compassion, fuelled by… Hate? That couldn't be right…<p>

"You've sensed my fuel, haven't you?" Rikuto stopped, and Sasuke became aware of their 'surroundings' once more. They now stood on a cliff's edge, overlooking a vast forest, reaching as far as the horizon, which was now bathed in a rich orange light from the sunset.

Sitting down, he began the story of his brother, the Uzumaki quest for power, and how he had single-handedly wiped out the largest cell of Uzumaki survivors there was.

"When I came to, memories burned into my mind from my Ryuuringan played over and over for a few days. It nearly drove me mad. Until… I haven't even told this to Naruto yet, but I found a chakra imprint from my mother. She… She knew what the clan were doing, and was bound by the cell Elder to continue. I could feel the anguish in her chakra. It was always so strong, so… loving, I could never feel threatened around her." Rikuto smiled wanly, turning to gaze at the sunset his genjutsu had created.

"Your chakra feels the same way as you described your mother's to be…" Sasuke murmured, glancing at the small green flames that had settled on his shoulder, flickering contentedly.

"I thought it might have, but to hear that myself is a wonderful blessing. She told me that no matter what, she'd always love my brother and I to no extent. I hated the clan then. Overwhelmingly bitter, dark hatred. My mother immediately sensed it, and a simple touch was enough to quell it. She smiled at me, and said that she too hated the clan for what they'd done. But then… She told me why. You see, Uzumaki Emi was the one that served as the black ops unit of the cell. That warranted her basically access to all the dirty secrets that the clan cell had. They… They wanted to rebuild Uzushio. But they knew that the clansmen would not return unless they felt safe… It was Iwa, Kumo and Mizu that destroyed our home. They felt that I would be enough of a deterrent and enough of an icon to entice them to return and rebuild.  
>In the end, they wanted a safe haven. They wanted their families to be able to laugh, cry, and live life without fear of constant persecution. They'd lost all of that, and they never wanted to see it happen again." Rikuto mourned now, but he refused to cry. Tears would not revive the dead.<p>

Sasuke sat, and mulled over his own experiences at the hands of power.

"But what would that accomplish? You're not immortal, nor omnipotent." He muttered, looking aside at Rikuto's shifting.

"While that is true, their actions were for the good of the clan. What I'm trying to get at here, Sasuke, is that people can be blinded by love. If they continue to stumble in that darkness, whether over time or right away, they lose sight of what they hold dear, and they develop hatred. You could argue that all love leads to hatred, and that it defines our world, which it currently does. Or, if you've got a heart, you can argue that you've got to really love not just the entity, but the ones around it, too. It's a hard task, to do this. You're always going to step on toes in a crowded room. It's inevitable. But, I think you're the right kind of person to do it. To remain standing, even with your scars, is a remarkable feat and I really think you need to know this. You're a lot like Naruto, actually. The little squirt doesn't believe in himself nearly as much as he should. It's good to not be overconfident, but you need a belief in yourself, and the people beside you, to continue. You can't do everything alone." Rikuto smiled towards the end, throwing an arm around the boy.

"I know that I can't ever answer for your brother or what he did. But, going by what I've gathered, such a person could never do such a thing without valid reason. Oftentimes, the most extreme acts are fuelled by love. Judging by the fact that you're still alive, I'd say it was for you."

"But… He tortured me! For weeks, I felt that same scene over and fucking over again! I watched as he murdered the clan, and stepped over the corpses of our parents like they were fucking dirt!" Sasuke lashed out with a punch, which was caught by Rikuto.

"I know about the months before the Massacre. I know that for years the Uchiha clan was placed under huge amounts of suspicion due to the unfortunate night of the Kyūbi attack. It was likely there was a decision made in the higher echelons of the village to annihilate the clan, but they needed a scapegoat, or a civil war would erupt as clans would feel they'd be next if they so much as stepped a toe out of line." Rikuto muttered harshly, still tender from discussing the fate of his own clan.

Sasuke was sobbing by this point. "He… He was the light in my life, as well as my mother… Father was so distant. There was always the clan coming first, or focusing on my genius of a brother. All I saw was his shadow, but all he saw was his little brother… I hated him so much because he turned from that… to a monster overnight. I never wanted to believe that our village could be capable of so much… But why such an extreme?" Sasuke turned teary onyx eyes to Rikuto, pleading for an answer.

"I can assume that Naruto has the same feelings towards the village and his own parents, although he only knows of his mother." Rikuto murmured, trailing off as he side tracked. Realising now that the kid was in such a mentally unstable state and easily manipulated, he sought to quickly fix that by helping the kid help himself, the best he could.

"After years of abuse, distrust, suspicion and curbing, and I suspect outside influence, your father grew restless due to insistence from the Clan Elders and the clansmen themselves. They sought to rectify their treatment the only way they saw possible – taking power for themselves. In the same way that the Uzumaki sought to end their persecution by fear, the Uchiha took the same route. But, I can imagine it was so they felt free and in charge of their own destinies again, so their children wouldn't know such fear. I can imagine that your brother was torn between the incredible love for his clan, his village, and his precious little brother. As I said, love blinds people. I carry with me every day, the crushing guilt of my clan blood on my hands. If I could, I'd have my sins purged by my own blood, and for a time I envisioned it. I dreamt it and began to scheme it, but remembered my mother and the sheer belief she had that I could reunite my clan and keep them safe once more. I doubt your brother had that to keep him from that path." Rikuto concluded, looking at Sasuke to fill in the blanks.

"So… That's why he made me relive that… So I'd hate him, and kill him- Oh, no!" Sasuke choked on a lump in his throat and as he finally lost his battle with his overwhelming shock, the genjutsu ended, the very same leaf finally hitting the ground.

Catching Sasuke on his back, Rikuto's eyes shifted back to their violet as his clone returned with a drenched Naruto.  
>"Get it, squirt?"<p>

Naruto nodded exuberantly, spinning excitedly to nail his cousin's clone square in the gut, dispelling it. "Oh, that felt good. It's a hollow victory, but… Hey why is Sasuke on your back? Did the sissy pass out?" Naruto pointed and laughed, but trailed off shortly afterwards at Rikuto's stony expression.

"He's going to need some time alone, so we're doing the protecting tomorrow as I leave him at home with a clone of each of ours. By then Kakashi should be awake." Rikuto informed him, turning to leave, Uchiha slung on his back and Uzumaki trailing behind him.

* * *

><p>As expected, Sasuke was quite sullen the next morning. After waking up in a makeshift bed, with a note that read "Remember, you can't accomplish everything alone."<p>

"Hey, Naruto. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sasuke murmured to the exuberant redhead, who was busy scarfing down breakfast.  
>"Uh, sure." Following his teammate upstairs, Sasuke spun on his heel and faced his possible only friend.<p>

"Your cousin made me realise something yesterday… And I might've never realised it until it was too late. I owe him more than I can say, but he also made me realise that I hated you, for what he is to you. What I'm trying to say is-"

Naruto held up a hand, silencing his teammate. "Don't. Loneliness isn't forever. I'm so lucky that Rikuto came into my life, and I will never think of losing him. You're human, and I can't judge you for that. You know, Rikuto isn't too far from here and he'll be here soon. But give him one chance to be there for you and he'll never let you down. He's just that kind of person that I wish there were more of." He sighed, and held out his hand. "Friends?"

Sasuke sighed, and gave a mock glare. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I? Friends."

Both boys stiffened as they felt a large sense of danger approaching, in the form of Rikuto with a camera. "Oh, this is gold. I'm _so_ saving this for future birthdays." The jōnin laughed, stashing the infernal device away.

"What? An Uchiha showing more emotion than that of a teaspoon is rare to see." Rikuto chuckled at Sasuke's glare, only to move aside for Kakashi to groggily make it out of the room.

"Well, morning sunshine. What's got you so groggy, eh?" Rikuto nudged the older man's ribs, eliciting a groan.  
>"What did you do to me, you Uzumaki bastard?" Kakashi groaned, peeling sealing tags off his arms and legs. Sticking an arm up his shirt, he threw the last one with the others.<p>

"Oh, I just used chakra diffusing seals to dilute my chakra back to standards you can use. Of course it'll feel weird at first, but you'll find it'll stimulate your own recovery, I believe." Rikuto nodded, pleased with his own explanation, spinning on his heel and yanking Naruto by the ear, earning a yelp from the boy and leaving Sasuke and Kakashi to share confused looks.

"Uzumaki, huh." Sasuke muttered.  
>"I'll never be able to keep up." Kakashi agreed, turning to face his student. "So, I hear Rikuto knocked some sense into you yesterday. He has a knack for that. But, to get that far I think he'd have to share some very delicate village secrets, which I don't agree with doing, but," he held up a hand to quell Sasuke's righteous objections, "if it means that you're feeling a lot better about the past and your brother, then I'd say it's very well worth it. Although, if Itachi ever <em>did<em> meet Rikuto, and knew he'd done this, he'd be very angry."

Sasuke paused to consider this. "Then," he decided, "I'll just have to demand that Itachi listen to me for once. I need his own explanation, by my own hand. Of course, some help wouldn't go astray… The bastard's crazy strong."

"Hey, Sasuke. I don't know how he did it, but those redheads somehow helped you, but most of that pain and effort to make that leap was all you. I'm proud of you." Kakashi eye-smiled, suddenly feeling weak. "Naruto understands more of a hard life than I can imagine, and it's good you're letting him in. I don't know how Rikuto tolerates this chakra, but it's real heavy. I need to sleep for a bit, wake me if you need anything."

Nodding, Sasuke decided to get some shut-eye himself, having spent most of the early hours of the morning lying awake, deep in thought.

Inari sat inside his room, catching every word. Were these ninja truly that stupid? Or did what the scarecrow say make sense? Did Naruto still try this hard, despite his hard life? Where did that leave him?

* * *

><p>After a day of boring patrols, sleeping and mulling, Rikuto had them assembled in the living room, with a still semi-drowsy Kakashi who insisted he'd been 'through worse'.<p>

"Consider this your first briefing, Naruto, Sasuke, 'Sakura'. Zabuza and his accomplice will be attacking today. While I could've ratted out the base and nipped it in the bud that would've risked a power vacuum that could create a large problem. I've made sure the local authorities make use of their seemingly extensive cells today. But, I digress. Gatou will likely strike here as an insurance policy, ensuring that Tazuna would bend to his will, by using Inari and Tsunami as hostages. I'll be leaving two reinforced Shadow Clones here to eliminate that possibility.

Next is ensuring Gatou shows up. Beat the two into submission, but _do not kill_. If they see that they weren't going to get paid, which I can guarantee, their allegiances may be available. Securing these two for the village will prove to be a great military boon.

As I discussed a few days ago, Kakashi and I will take on Zabuza, leaving my clone disguised as Sakura to defend Tazuna, and the boys to take on his accomplice. This should be enough of a strategy to make changes on the fly. We have the manpower for this to work effectively." Rikuto concluded, standing up. "You've got your orders, let's go."

Rikuto made two sealless clones, who had received mental orders, and hid themselves in the room. Walking with Kakashi out of the door, he commented, "You're still having trouble with that chakra? You'll be pleasantly surprised, soon enough." Rikuto grinned, leaning forwards and vanishing in a burst of speed that Kakashi tried to follow, and nearly exclaimed as the Uzumaki chakra in his system that he could process due to Rikuto's dilution seals exploded to life, forming a green aura around him and allowing him to easily keep up with his redheaded colleague.

Naruto and Sasuke kept pace running behind them, content to keep the silence between them. "Hey, Sasuke. Your eyes. They're… _Sharingan!_"

"The mental strain that… Oh, that makes sense." Sasuke marvelled as his vision became so much clearer, and he could track fast moving scenery with ease, and the powerful blue hue around Naruto, that had to be his vast chakra reserves.  
>Deactivating his new eyes, he took off with Naruto hot on his heels to keep up with the speed demons that made up their superiors.<p>

…Only to land behind them, and in the thick of a battle between elite KI. Kakashi put out a bitter, dark, and oppressive Killer Intent, countered by the sheer bloodlust behind Zabuza's, the fierceness of his accomplice's, however augmented by the simple dead weight of Rikuto's pressure he exerted.

"So, it appears the rest of your play ninja have arrived, Kakashi. But I never expected to be able to fight the Second Red Death today! Haku, you take the small fry, I'll take these two." Zabuza cocked his head to the side, tugging Kubikiribōchō into his grip, as Rikuto reached for his own sword.

"The legends say you wield a sword of a kind to the Seven, you know." Zabuza growled, excitement seeping into his KI.  
>Rikuto's face split into a grin. "You fuckin' bet I do, asshole!" He hissed, drawing his beautiful wakizashi – green patterned handle, with a chipped black wooden tsuba, which curved four inches over the blade as an ornamental guard.<p>

"I'd know that sword anywhere. The stories say it's an Uzumaki heirloom, a **Kōmaken** (demon-slaying sword) and it's exceptionally powerful." Kakashi muttered, eyeing the blade he'd never seen his colleague use until now. Even more to the unusual, he held it backhanded, sinking into a crouch.

Zabuza and Rikuto tensed, then simply disappeared, reappearing in the middle of their standoff, Zabuza using powerful, precise, measured heavy slashes, and Rikuto using his stance and spinning momentum to counter strikes and lash out with swift slashes of his own, making a deadly dance of reflexes and precision.

Kakashi took the time to summon his ninken, and to engage the accomplice, whom appeared to be using **Hyōton** (Ice Release) ninjutsu, save this was the real thing.  
>Taking the time to avoid the ice senbon thrown at him, Kakashi nailed the youth with direct eye-contact with his Sharingan, paralysing the youth, but keeping him awake.<p>

"Why… Why are you doing this?" He growled, trying to resist being tied up.

"Because we have reason to believe that Gatou would never pay up. Besides, you're likely someone important to someone else, and besides, you're valuable. Stay here with me." Kakashi chuckled inwardly at his own joke.

Turning back to the fight, he witnessed Zabuza and Rikuto jump back from each other, both sporting gashes and cuts all over their bodies.  
>Rikuto muttered something, and laughed. "You know, I've been waiting for a day like this. <strong>Fly, and strike gracefully, Kaminari.<strong>" He hissed, flicking his sword to a forehanded grip, which glowed emerald green, and then shot outwards, becoming a beautiful halberd, with a wickedly curving blade, which looked as if it were made of emerald scales, but became black on the blade edges. The halberd also had a glittering emerald gem that had a tapered point on the other end.

Zabuza whistled. "So, that's one of the Uzumaki creations. Well, shit. Come at me!"

Rikuto was about to gleefully oblige, when the smacking of a cane could be heard, and the heavy footsteps of a large group of men could be heard.

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary. What a shame, you couldn't take care of a few kids and a scarecrow. Please. As if I'd pay you anyway!" Gatou laughed heartily.  
>"Kill them all, men!"<p>

The group of ragtag thugs charged, giving the shinobi a moment to exchange looks. "So, temporary let's-fuck-this-bumhole truce?" Rikuto glanced around, and meeting another shrug and fierce nodding, Kakashi cut Haku loose, who jumped to Zabuza's side.

"First to thirty wiiiiiiiiiinsss…!" Rikuto cried, already having resealed his sword, and laying into the men with brutal Uzuken asskickery.

"Oi! You fucking Leaf cheat!" Zabuza swore, leaping into the fray, leaving the others to stand back and let the two lunatics duke it out.  
>"So, uh, hi?" Naruto peered at Haku, who grinned. "I'm actually glad this happened. Zabuza-sama seems to like Rikuto-san a lot. He bonds over fighting," he explained at the end.<p>

Straightening from his last victim, Rikuto clicked his fingers and four Leaf ANBU agents appeared and apprehended the fleeing Gatou, vanishing as soon as they came.  
>Spinning around, he put his hands on his hips. "So, Zabuza, Haku. You've got two options. One, I can escort you back to Konoha, where you'll then be integrated into our ranks, and perhaps become a Mizu envoy if the country stabilises itself. I know your story, Momochi."<p>

Zabuza raised a non-existent eyebrow. "And the other 'choice', you have for us?"

"I leave you to run off, to be hunted by Mizu ANBU which by sure aren't far from here, or to starve from no income. Either that or I save them the trouble and kill you both right here and now." A Rikuto clone muttered in their ears, hands landing on their necks, shining green seals spreading over their bodies.

"Those are a special seal developed by the Uzumaki clan. The ancestor to the Caged Bird Seal used by the Hyuuga today, it is a very rough **jūinjutsu** (Curse Seal) – get more than ten kilometres away from me, and it will use your own chakra to break down your own body, to the point where you detonate. Additionally, I can activate this effect at will." Rikuto informed them, dispelling the clone.

"You're… not giving us much choice, are you?" Haku whispered, rubbing his neck, chills from Rikuto's hand still there.

"No. I have no doubts you would've chosen Konoha anyway, but I don't operate without an insurance policy or three." The Uzumaki grinned.  
>Then, much to the chagrin of the younger Uzumaki, he continued with "Now, I really want a fucking bath." He whined, flicking a globule of blood off his forearm.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>And now, I leave you for an indeterminate amount of time! Sorry for the drop in writing standard, I need to get back into planning this shit out before I write!<strong>

**Love ya's,  
><strong>_**Night Doktor**_


	11. Chapter 11: Bonding

**Chapter Eleven**

The journey back to Konoha was a mixed basket of emotions for the hodgepodge team. Zabuza and Haku were fairly anxious, or, well, Haku was. Zabuza was just a little excited as well.

Naruto, on the other hand, was beginning to second-guess his motion to leave Sakura behind. Surely there were going to be consequences. Hokage-jiji would not be happy with him, not at all.  
>Noticing his cousin's discomfort, Rikuto couldn't help but frown. He knew that Sarutobi would not be happy with the boy, and because of that, he'd be dragged into Naruto's affairs as well, something he tried to avoid as much as possible. He wanted Naruto to develop his own life, not rely on him for guidance consistently.<p>

"Naruto." Rikuto murmured, dropping a hand onto the boy's shoulder. "When Hokage-sama calls for you, do not lie to him. Do not embellish anything. Simply tell."  
>Naruto looked down as he walked. "I know, but I'm doubting my actions."<br>Rikuto chuckled. "And that's where you're erring, squirt. You can question the reasoning behind your actions, but never go on thinking and questioning the actions themselves. It makes it easier to accept the consequences, whether they be good or bad. You've done what you've done, but the reasoning behind what you've done – well, that changes things."  
>Nodding to Rikuto's points, Naruto sighed and continued on.<p>

What he was expecting, well, he didn't really know. But a full council meeting? Shocked beyond recovery, beyond chances of retrieving his aplomb from the faraway lands it had been punted to, Naruto stood before the Village Council, with, for once, all bar two seats filled; that of the Uchiha and Senju.

Sarutobi Hiruzen cleared his throat and stood with a severe air.  
>"Genin Uzumaki Naruto, you are brought before the council by Councillor Haruno for mistreatment and bullying of a teammate and asserting authority over shinobi forces you do not possess. How do you answer these charges?"<p>

Naruto gulped, looking at each of the councillors' faces, noting confusion and distaste on the shinobi side, and unrelenting hate from the civilian side. He subconsciously reeled in his sensory field just to shield himself from it.

"Hokage-sama, this matter is strictly a shinobi matter, and seeing as the Civilian Council has no jurisdiction over this matter, I respectfully ask that they not be present for this trial." Uzumaki Rikuto spoke up, drawing eyes to the rather imposing shinobi. Many had heard of the man's strength and temper, eerily reminiscent of their late Red Hot Habanero.

"Keep quiet, Uzumaki! You're just sticking up for the de-"

Rikuto's eyes flashed dangerously, and in that instant, he was behind Councillor Haruno with a chakra blade millimetres from her throat.  
>"Care to finish that sentence, wench? Beware breaking a very serious law, and angering someone who could kill you with his eyes shut. I'm not just talking about myself, here." Rikuto hissed lowly in her ear.<p>

Hiruzen pinched his nose, knowing full well what would happen with the boiling tension between the Uzumaki Clan Head and the entirety of the Civilian Council. Using that clause was petty, but valid nevertheless.

"Civilian Council, the Uzumaki Clan Head presents a very valid point. I must ask you to vacate the chambers immediately." Hiruzen nodded to the council, and they reluctantly cleared out.

Once the chamber was silent once more, Hiruzen motioned to the very, uncharacteristically still Naruto.  
>"Naruto-kun, please, continue." He intoned, casting a look at the elder redhead.<p>

"Haruno-san presents a large, undeniable liability to Team Seven." Naruto started, peering at the imposing clan heads, and clearing his throat before continuing.

"Her obsession with Uchiha-san, dieting, and making sure her appearance is up to her standards has consumed unhealthy amounts of her time that should have been spent training. Sure, she's started reading into medical studies, however her general behaviour hasn't changed. During the initial confrontation with the Demon Brothers, she was barely capable of holding her kunai steady let alone use it. I honestly felt like she was better off not being with us; we'd just have had to split our concentration defending her as well as ourselves and the client." Naruto explained, wasting no effort on his usual efforts of embellishment and bravery.

Hiruzen took several moments to scrutinise the boy, searching his face for any tells. He then assessed the reactions of the shinobi Clan Heads, Rikuto included. He was partially inclined to ignore the Uzumaki's input; he was on the mission, giving him credibility but the accused was also his cousin and ward.

"Naruto. Your actions in proceeding with the mission despite it being bumped up to an A-rank, with one member down, are deplorable. Moreso those of your sensei who allowed the actions to be taken." Here Hiruzen nailed Kakashi with a lazy glare.

"However, your reinforced Shadow Clone disguised as your apparent useless teammate covered any weaknesses and you were just… _lucky_ that your cousin was in the vicinity. How… fortunate." Hiruzen drawled, casting a look at the shameless Uzumaki Clan Head.

Rikuto had the decency to look sheepish but tossed his head to the side regardless.  
>"Yes, he's always had luck on his side."<p>

"It is, however, unorthodox to disband a team like this. What I will say, is that perhaps Haruno-san should spend some time with a remedial sensei for two weeks, reconvene the team, and re-take the bell test with Kakashi. This should solve at least a majority of the team's issues. As far as I'm aware, you and Uchiha-san are getting along quite well?"

Naruto beamed.  
>"Yep! He's actually a really nice guy under the several layers of asshole!" He chirped, rocking back and forth on his heels.<br>Suddenly remembering where he was and whom he was speaking to, he stilled himself, casting a sheepish look at an exasperated Rikuto.

"I would nominate Anko-chan to mentor Sakura. She hates fangirls, and she's quite the fearsome shinobi as it is. Physical conditioning would undoubtedly be her first goal, then I'm sure Anko would arrange the rest. If anything she'll beat the stupidity out of her in no time." Rikuto murmured, raising nods of agreement amongst the shinobi Clan Heads.

Hiruzen nodded himself, satisfied with the recommendation.  
>"So let it be written, so let it be done. Mitarashi Anko will now be the interim sensei to Haruno Sakura effective immediately. Rikuto-kun, if you woudn't mind informing them both and taking care of the introductions, I would be most grateful."<p>

Rikuto nodded.  
>"Thank you. Now, charges dropped, Uzumaki Naruto, treat your comrades more carefully in future. This meeting is over." Hiruzen barked, leaving the room.<p>

Rikuto grabbed Naruto by the ear and shunshined from the room.  
>"Stay here, work on your seals. When I return, we'll work on something special." Naruto perked up at this, and excitedly ran into his seal room.<p>

Rikuto sighed about what was to come, and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Anko was in heaven. She'd arrived, at exactly five minutes before her favourite dango shop rotated their stock, and thus waited patiently for the new batch to become available.<p>

Ordering an unhealthy amount, enough to pile on a plate, she descended upon her favourite table with haste to devour her plunder- Only to have a chill go down her spine, and watched in horror as one ball was slowly removed by a slender hand.

Only one motherfucker had balls brass enough to do this.  
>"Rikuto. What brings you here?" She asked, slumping down at the table and politely ignoring Rikuto eating her food.<p>

"Team Seven. What do you know of them?" Rikuto murmured, leaning back in his seat and assessing her reaction.  
>"I know they're dysfunctional as they come. Pinky is a lazy fangirl, Broody is well broody, and little tomato? Meh he's cool, but too flaky. Like his uhh… yeah." Anko finished lamely. "What else?"<p>

"Well, Anko-chan, it turns out Naruto was responsible for Sakura being ordered to return to the village and the team continued alone, only for me to conveniently be nearby and completed the turned A-rank mission. She was found guilty of fangirling, ignoring her training and providing a necessary danger to the team's survival." Rikuto informed her.

Anko laughed in between mouthfuls of dango.  
>"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. So, why are you chatting me up, eh big tomato? Surely the geezer didn't order me to train her."<p>

Rikuto didn't blink.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Anko threw a skewer straight at Rikuto, only for the man to flick it out of the air with his finger.

"And who's shitty idea was that, eh? You fucking ass." Anko grumbled, eating dango in between bursts of profanity.  
>"Meet me at your second home in fifteen minutes, Anko. That's an order, on behalf of Hokage-sama." Rikuto stood up, before picking off a stick of dango and disappearing before Anko could skewer him with another stick.<p>

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura was currently brooding in her room. She'd been turned back from her team, and the approving look of her Sasuke-kun as she was escorted away had driven the nail in the coffin.<p>

She was broken from her musings as she heard her parents talking to someone at the front door.

Rikuto stood at the front door, knocking thrice. Soon, the door opened to reveal Councilwoman Haruno. She narrowed her eyes at the visitor.

"Uzumaki-_sama_. What can I do for you?" She sneered, leaving no sarcasm veiled.

"I'm here to speak to your daughter, regarding her dismissal from the Wave mission. May I have a moment?" He asked, gesturing outside.  
>Mebuki frowned, not expecting this development. Unsure, she nodded.<br>"I must insist on accompanying you, if so."

"That is fine, Councillor. I'll be waiting outside." Rikuto nodded, and turned to wait at the front gate to their estate.  
>Mebuki scowled. "Sakura! Come down here!"<p>

Hearing her mother's tone, Sakura wasted no time in grumbling and storming down the stairs.  
>"That demon's guardian is outside to see you about your mission. I'm coming with you just in case, let's go." Mebuki shooed her daughter out the front door, and closed it behind her.<p>

Sakura stiffened and slowed when she caught sight of one of the most fearsome shinobi that she'd ever seen.  
>Flinty violet eyes raked in every detail of the girl before turning around with a snort.<p>

"Come." He said, appearing behind them both and disappearing with a shunshin and two screeches.

Appearing outside the gates of the Forest of Death, Rikuto silenced Mebuki with a glare and turned on Sakura.

"You're a fucking disgrace. I've known kunoichi that can go toe to toe with me, and some that can beat me. You risked the lives of not just your team, but the life of someone I hold very dear to my heart. I can guarantee you, should you _ever_ risk the life or purposely endanger the life of Naruto, I will fucking kill you with my bare hands, do you understand me?" Rikuto pinned Sakura with a harsh amount of killing intent, rooting the girl in place. Sweat rolled down her face by the time she could answer.

"Y- Yes, I understand." She stammered, looking away in fear.

He reigned in his KI and turned away before speaking again.  
>"You'll be assigned to a teacher for the next 2 weeks as a remedial training program. After that, you will then be reassessed with your team to prove you're fit to return to active duty. Go in, she'll find you."<p>

Sakura looked up at the dark forest looming above her and gulped.

"Did I fucking stutter, girl? Go!" Rikuto barked, causing Sakura to scurry into the open gate in front of them.

"Now, Councillor, may I offer a return to your house?" Rikuto offered, bowing with no small amount of flamboyancy.

* * *

><p>Anko stood waiting in a clearing nearby when Sakura approached.<p>

"If I were an enemy, you'd be dead, girl." Anko snorted derisively, before uncrossing her arms and sauntering forward. "Although that's no guarantee that you won't end up that way once I'm through with you."

Sakura gulped and looked around fearfully.

"No one's here save you and I. Rikuto roped me into this and even I know better than to cross that freak of nature. If anything, I guess he knew I'd be personally invested in fixing up the mistake that you are. Pitiful." Anko glared.  
>"You bring disgrace to the kunoichi name. Time to fix that, eh pinky?"<p>

Sakura nodded, her shoulders slumped, eyes downcast and ultimately, her will broken.  
>Seeing this, Anko smiled. It was not often a good sign when Anko smiled.<p>

"Well, come on then. Get rid of that shit in your hair, tie it back and run around the Forest's outer fence twice. Go!" She barked, scaring the pinkette into motion, reminding her of Rikuto, before running towards the gate and beginning her laps.

Anko sighed, seated herself on the forest floor and began to read. Soon enough, she giggled, a thin line of blood seeping from her nose.

"Oh, Kuro-san, so rough…"

* * *

><p>Rikuto alighted from his shunshin, to find Naruto laying on the ground in his own seal study, with scrolls everywhere, ink all up his arms and a splotch underneath his left eye.<p>

He raised an eyebrow at Naruto's current state and the younger redhead laughed sheepishly.  
>"I kinda knocked over the ink pot… Luckily it wasn't sealing ink!" He chippered up at the end, looking back down at his work.<p>

"Squirt, we're going to begin something that really should have been done a while ago, but with the way you've been set back, even by jinchūriki standards… Well. Ready?" Rikuto bent down to place a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, okay. Sure." Naruto wasn't sure, and couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea as Rikuto activated that thrice-damned Hiraishin to teleport to their training cavern, kilometres under the surface of their estate.

**_Hey, Kurama, are you awake? Naruto and I need to discuss something important with you._** Rikuto channelled his chakra into the Link Seal.

Naruto stiffened as he felt the Kyuubi awaken and turn his attention to the Link Seal.  
><strong><em>I'm here, brat. What is it?<em>**

Rikuto smiled, and sat into a meditation pose.  
><strong><em>I'm coming in, hold on to your tails.<em>** Rikuto muttered, smirking at Kurama's snort.

Appearing in the forest aside Naruto, they then made their way to the cave that they knew housed Kurama.  
>After some time walking, they arrived.<p>

"Kurama. Yo." Rikuto lazily saluted, and Naruto chirped a greeting.

"Oi, wait a fucking minute." Rikuto narrowed his eyes at the seal.  
>"Minato you fucking genius…" He muttered, making strange hand seals that Kurama recognised as very old Uzumaki sealing handseals.<p>

Before their eyes, the seal bars retracted, shrunk, then linked together in an intertwined collar, the seal mechanism forming a metal pentant that was fixed into the band of the collar. The collar then latched itself around Kurama's neck, leaving the beast free to roam Naruto's mindscape.

Kurama was floored. **_Brat, I like you. Can we go up to the surface? This cave is so humid and closed in, I hate it._**

A moment later, a tail swiped at Rikuto. **_Don't even think about getting on my back. Twerp._** Kurama muttered, before starting ahead, leading the small party out of the cave, Naruto giggling at Rikuto's expense the entire way.

Once they'd reached the forest, Kurama inhaled deeply, and took off in a sprint. A few moments later, and a few resounding thuds following that, Kurama landed gracefully in the clearing.

**_Ah, it's been far too long since I've been able to run free. Uzumaki Rikuto. I will tolerate you._** Kurama said grandly, nodding as if he'd done the human a great honour, leaving said human to facefault.

"You're an asshole, Kurama. But you're likeable. I too, shall tolerate you." Rikuto laughed, smiling at the fox.

**_Now we're done tolerating each other, what did you two come here for?_** Kurama asked, settling down onto the ground, laying his colossal head onto his front paws.

"I think it's time that Naruto learnt how to use your power, Kurama. There will undoubtedly be enemies after not only me, but him as well, due to you, his heritage and rapidly growing fūinjutsu repertoire. He needs an edge, a trump card. I'm not going to ask anything of you. It's not my place." Rikuto explained, shoving Naruto forward with a swipe.

Naruto looked between the Kyuubi and Rikuto, confused.  
>"For the record, Kurama, I didn't know we were even going to come in here until a few minutes ago. I have no idea what's going on."<p>

**_Implying you ever do, brat._** Kurama chuckled heartily, then settled again. **_But jokes aside, big tomato does have a valid point, loathe as I am to admit it._**  
>Rikuto squawked indignantly at the tomato comment, but otherwise remained silent.<p>

Naruto took a moment to think about what Rikuto and the fox had said.  
>"You're right… I've got a pretty big target on my head, don't I? Well, <em>we<em> have a big target, anyway. Kurama, we're going to need to work together from now on, not only to survive but to get stronger and protect the people close to us. What do you say?" Naruto clenched his fist and offered it to the bijū.

Kurama considered the child offering his fist out, and eventually grinned.  
><strong><em>You're lucky your cousin is a good mediator, brat. But, I can tell you've got spunk. I'm going to assume you know what you're getting yourself into. I will work with you, for now.<em>**

The fox sent forward a humanoid paw, and fistbumped the young redhead.

Instantly, a cloak of red chakra bubbled around him, and Naruto cried out at the sheer rush of power. Hatred, anger and desperation made up the chakra, and Naruto shut it out almost immediately.  
>Tears in his eyes, he looked up at the expectant eyes of the fox.<p>

"Rikuto once told me that one of the few ways to feel and understand someone is to hold their chakra… Kurama, what have they done to you?" Naruto shouted, angry at his predecessor's actions to create such animosity in what would otherwise be a gentle creature.

**_I am the Great Ninetails, the Kyuubi no Yoko. I am hatred incarnate. Your people imprisoned me, used me and stole my chakra. Treated me like a battery, like some evil that would wipe them out if left unchecked. I would do that now, however all I wanted was to be left alone. Free to wander as I wished. You humans are a detestable cancer, doomed to fight yourselves to extinction. You wouldn't know peace if it punched you in the face. _**Kurama grimaced and looked away.

**_You know why. Do you still wish to work with me, knowing what I am, and how you'll_** - the Kyuubi was interrupted by the feeling of something around his right foreleg.

Looking down, he saw Naruto clutching onto him for all he was worth, sobbing loudly.

Rikuto looked on at the scene with a pang. Deciding to say nothing, he moved back into the tree line to observe without interfering.

"You're not hatred! Fuck that! I can feel it overwhelming you and you have to stop it! How else can we fix it and move on if you're clinging to hatred as if that's all there is! You can't lie to me, I can feel your thoughts and I can feel your mind! We're linked now and I can see what you refuse to, you big stupid fox! You fear your capacity to love, don't you!" Naruto yelled, pounding with his tiny fist against the much, much larger fox leg he was clinging to.

Kurama stopped his motion to shake the little redhead off his leg at the words.

**_You expect me to just forget? To 'move on' and pretend like nothing ever happened? Could you do the same thing, Naruto?_** Kurama asked, using the redhead's name for the first time.

"I don't want you to forget. Your experiences make you who you are. But, you're not hatred. What I'm saying is that I deeply regret the actions of my ancestors. I don't know what my way would have been but I would have protected you like I'd protect Rikuto, because you're important to me, okay? I have my own hatred too. But I need it because without it I wouldn't be whole. But I'm not going to let it control me, are you?" Naruto demanded, jumping back and looking up at the fox with a determined frown.

Kurama took some time to study the young man in front of him and search him for any negative emotions, searching for doubt, searching for any inconsistencies. He couldn't affort to trust willy nilly again. Not after last time. Never again.

Finding nothing, the fox sighed, honestly surprised.  
><strong><em>Naruto… The link goes both ways. I feel your chakra, I feel your mind. I feel your heart. You truly intend to stand by my side, don't you?<em>**

Naruto nodded. "Are there any others like you?"

Kurama also nodded. **There are Nine in total. I am the strongest of the bijū. Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nananbi, Hachibi. Their names you will have to earn for yourself, when you meet them.**

Naruto widened his eyes. "So by extension there are people like me, too… Kurama I'm glad I met you. Not only are you kickass and fucking awesome, but there are others like you too!"

Kurama couldn't help but smile. **_Let's do this again, shall we?_** He said, offering a fist.

Grinning widely, Naruto jumped up and slammed his fist into Kurama's.

This time, a cloak of wispy yellow chakra enveloped Naruto, and he marvelled at the increased potency and power of this version of their bond.

**_If you want to access my full power, you'll have to unlock the seal and fight me for the right to truly wield my power and stand beside me as my equal. But I'm sure even big tomato would agree you're not nearly ready for that yet. In time, we shall see. For now, you should be able to use up to four tails without losing your mind from the power overload. We've established a mutual bond, so you won't lose your mind to the toxicity of my chakra anymore._** Kurama explained, closing his eyes.

Rikuto then appeared beside Naruto, and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Kurama, just one more thing. Did you happen to see where Minato secured the key to the seal before he sealed you?" Rikuto enquired, looking up at the fox who opened one red, slitted eye to peer down at the redhead.

**_He summoned a record toad and entrusted the seal to that toad. Where that toad is now, I do not know._**

"Alright, that narrows down the search quite a bit. Thank you, Kurama." Rikuto bowed, and faded from view, along with Naruto.

Opening his eyes in the real world, Rikuto stood, and put some distance in between himself and Naruto, making a beckoning gesture.

"Channel Kurama's chakra, and come at me. I want to see what you can do with it." Rikuto called, falling into a loose stance, guard high and alert.

Naruto wasted no time in calling upon Kurama's influence, once more coated in wispy, yellow chakra that had two tails waving lazily behind him, and fox ears above his head.

Two small indents in the ground were all that remained when Naruto took off, launching himself at his cousin.

* * *

><p>Sasuke slouched at home, staring at a picture of him and his brother. <em>Maybe I'll get some truth out of you.<em> He thought, before shaking his head and clearing his thoughts.

"I wonder where Naruto would be." He found himself muttering, strolling through the village, trying to locate one of the two redheads in the entire village. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Two hours later, Sasuke was ready to pull his hair out. _That idiot isn't THAT good at avoiding someone, especially if he didn't even expect me to try and find him._ Sasuke mused, checking the ramen stall for the sixth time.

_Hmph, I don't even know why I'm trying to find him so much._ Sasuke wondered, before getting the shits and deciding to go train instead.

* * *

><p>The third member of Team 7, however was having a far less enjoyable time.<p>

Anko was a slave driver. After the two laps of the entire forest she'd done, the insane amount of pushups, crunches and stretches she'd made her do resulted in Sakura collapsing with exhaustion.

"Really. After two laps, twenty crunches, twenty pushups and some stretches and you're nearly passing out. Pitiful. Go home, pinky. Come back tomorrow. Eat full, proper meals. Dieting may help your figure, but it won't help you staying alive. With the shinboi lifestyle you'll burn a lot of calories anyway so you in actual fact, do need proper meals. Come here at 6am sharp tomorrow. Peace." Anko instructed, disappearing in a burst of speed.

After some time, Sakura got up, and managed to slowly hobble her way home.  
>Mebuki saw the condtion her daughter was in and immediately fretted. "What did they do to you?"<p>

"They put me through hell and it's just day one! But if it means getting stronger and staying by Sasuke-kun, then I'll do what it takes!" Sakura formed a fist, determined.

She left her mother smiling and went upstairs to clean up.

* * *

><p>Naruto collapsed on the ground, and Rikuto sat beside him, sighing contentedly.<p>

"You did good, squirt. Shame you put yourself out of the fight straight after it started, slamming yourself into the wall like that." Rikuto chuckled, recalling Naruto's frightened yell as he flew through the air, not accustomed at all to the increased speed of Kurama's chakra and slammed face first into the wall behind Rikuto.

Training to use the speed, he had Naruto engage him in taijutsu, before switching to ninjutsu, not bothering with using genjutsu, but breaking them.

Activating his dōjutsu, he'd had Naruto break some genjutsu, with Kurama stepping in to break all of the high level genjutsu.

"It's very good you have Kurama on your side to dispel genjutsu. You are practically immune." Rikuto said, bringing them both back to the present.

"But what about the Uchiha Mangekyō techniques that you can use?" Naruto rolled over to look at his cousin.

"I doubt Kurama would like to have one of those techniques used on him again. I don't want to cause unnecessary discomfort." Rikuto waved off the suggestion.

**_The Uchiha that controlled me is likely still alive and plotting. Perhaps, if you're capable of a similar visual prowess that you train Naruto to help break it._** Kurama rumbled in Rikuto's mind.

_Hmm, good point. If you're okay with it, then I'll proceed._ Rikuto cut the connection, channelling chakra to his eyes, awakening the Ryūringan.

**"****Tsukuyomi."** Rikuto snared Naruto in the legendary illusionary technique, bringing them to the same grassed valley that he'd taken Sasuke to.

"Try to break this, Naruto. It's the same technique that the Uchiha use with their eyes." Rikuto explained.

Naruto tried every genjutsu breaking technique he knew, but the illusion held firm, not even budging.  
>Kurama then lent his effort, trying all sorts of methods before he sighed.<p>

**_Your eyes are truly strong. We will have to work at this over time perhaps._** Kurama shrugged, before going back to sleep.

Ending the technique and cutting the flow of chakra to his eyes, Rikuto stood, and teleported them back to the house.

"Good work for today! Time to cook dinner, I suppose. Then back to D-rank missions with Sasuke and Kakashi tomorrow, and I have an A-rank. Some scroll delivery through Mizu no Kuni to some spy cells. Nothing drastic, I'll be gone for a week or two. I've left groceries here, and some money to get more. If I find you've only had ramen I swear to the Log I'll beat you black and blue, you little shit. Am I clear?" Rikuto used his influence to turn the room dark and gloomy.

Naruto stilled and nodded rapidly.

The room cleared and Rikuto smiled. "Good!"

Leaving the crazed Uzumaki to start cooking, Naruto went back upstairs to his room and began reading more advanced sealing scrolls he'd found in the study.

* * *

><p>The next day, Naruto awoke to a note on his bedside.<p>

_Yo squirt,_

_Left for my mission today, I should be back within the week. Once I get within range of the Hiraishin seal I placed on the remote outpost, I should be able to leg it back here. Also, burn this note._

- _Rikuto_

_PS: If you misbehave I will know, I will find you and I will kick your ass._

Naruto smiled, and burnt the paper to a crisp over his waste bin with Kurama's chakra.

Deciding to get some breakfast in, he felt on the rebellious side and went to grab some ramen out of the cupboard, but recoiled with a yelp as the container shocked his hand, a small seal array glowing an angry red.

"Fucking bastard." Naruto cursed, instead getting some cereal and an apple before scarfing the former down and running off with the apple as to not be late to his team meeting.

Scrambling out the door, Naruto vanished in a shunshin, only to land right next to Sasuke who startled.

"Fuck, you scared me. Hey wait a minute, where the hell were you yesterday, anyway? I searched a fair bit for you." Sasuke rounded on his teammate, however he was loathe to tell him just how _far _he had ended up searching.

"Oh, that! I was training with Rikuto-nii for a few hours." Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, if I had've known you were looking for me I'd be happy to hang out." He smiled, putting his arms behind his head.

A moment later, Kakashi appeared with a bullshit excuse about a ladder AND a black cat blocking two exits, making the man choose the one that went around the village.

Soon enough, they obtained several more D-rank missions, in which Kakashi watched with happiness as his two remaining students got on much better than before the Wave mission. Idly he wondered if Sakura was still alive after two days with Anko, and laughed softly as he imagined her after 2 weeks.

Watching Sasuke and Naruto sit together eating their lunches warmed Kakashi's heart, and he wished solemly that he had had circumstances differently with him and Obito. Determined to keep the boys from parting, he closed his book and called a training session.

"Alright you two. I don't think we've done this before… I want to see an intensive spar between you two. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu. No maiming or serious injury, not that I think that'd happen, but I have to cover my own ass." Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

"Begin!" He barked, the two boys leaping away from each other, Sasuke activating his Sharingan and began analysing his opponent.

Naruto sank into a loose Uzuken stance, and expanded his senses, consciously focusing it on Sasuke.

In the blink of an eye, the two Genin moved to clash at speeds they shouldn't have been capable of, Kakashi's lone eye widening in mild surprise.

Sasuke started with a precise jab at Naruto's shoulder, and the other boy responded by weaving out of the way and rotating into a vicious side heel kick that Sasuke only managed to block because of his Sharingan.

The force behind it was more than he expected, however, resulting him in sliding back a couple metres.

Grinning, Sasuke launched into a brief offensive burst, basic introductory strikes in the Interceptor Fist.  
>Naruto, true to his family style, whirled in and around Sasuke's strikes, blocking and reacting with vicious jabs where Sasuke left openings.<p>

Jumping back, Naruto went through three Uzumaki handseals before grinning.

"I win. **Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Mahi!**" (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Paralysis) The points where Naruto had jabbed Sasuke suddenly glowed, and Sasuke froze, unable to move.

Kakashi sat back, amused by the fight.  
>"Do you know where you went wrong, Sasuke?" Kakashi called, strolling leisurely over.<p>

Sasuke grunted, not able to talk due to the full body paralysis seal Naruto had placed on him. Laughing sheepishly, Naruto clapped his hands together and a quick "Kai!" later, Sasuke slumped to his knees, not expecting the sudden release.

Dusting himself off and poking his tongue out at Naruto, he turned to Kakashi.  
>"I underestimated him. I didn't know he was capable of using seals to that extent and I didn't know his taijutsu was that far along." Sasuke turned to his teammate.<p>

"You've done really well since you were a dead last idiot. But, all things considered, you're still the village idiot." Sasuke nodded to himself, pleased with his explanation.

Naruto sighed and whacked Sasuke across the head. Ignoring the boy's yelp, he turned to his sensei.

"Another thing. Should you, in the very unfortunate yet still unlikely event, meet another Uzumaki, never let them touch you, Sasuke. You learnt the hard way today. One day I'll have to get Rikuto to spar me so you two can get an idea of what a real Uzumaki is like in combat. It's frightening." Kakashi muttered, looking over his Genin.

"For now, do three sets of the standard rotation and two laps, then you can go home." Kakashi pulled out his orange book and started reading, ignoring the tired groans of the boys.

* * *

><p>It had been four days since Anko had personally made Sakura's life a living hell. Brutal training regimen after regimen, Sakura was nearly hitting breaking point.<p>

She now knew most of the basic kata forms from the Snake taijutsu style that Anko had taught her, had basic knowledge of all the poisons that could be readily crafted in the Forest, and her stamina had increased somewhat.

Still, she pushed herself up from the position she'd collapsed in, and glared at Anko.

Meeting an approving glance, Sakura cried out before engaging her tormentor once more.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on the roof of Sasuke's house, staring at the stars.<p>

Regardless of the situation or place, the night sky seemed to offer him more solace than perhaps even Rikuto's presence.  
>Sasuke shuffled quietly as he laid down beside his only friend.<p>

"What are you doing up here? When you said you wanted some company, I thought you'd have stayed in the house with me." He muttered, sighing contentedly. Dinner was good, after all.

Naruto chuckled.  
>"Rikuto always berates me for laying on the roof too much. He says he's going to move my bedroom furniture up there one day. I find more solace and peace with the night sky right above me than I do any other way. I just feel so… awkward whenever Rikuto isn't here."<p>

Sasuke stayed silent, not wanting to burden the situation with a pissing contest of who had it worse.

"I'm sorry for whining to you of all people about that… I-"  
>"Tomato, it's fine. I know. I'm not going to hold it against you for what happened when you talk about things like that. I know you're not pitying me like everyone else does. You're probably the only person who could come close to understanding me… I just hope that if in the case that Itachi confirms what I've been told… I'd really like if you'd be there with me. If you and Big Tomato hadn't have come into my life, I dread what I would've become. I guess… thanks." Sasuke pulled his knees in close and hugged himself tight.<p>

He could hear Naruto shuffling beside him, only to feel an arm around his shoulders and the warmth of his chakra. He also found he didn't mind it at all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Sorry for the massive amount of time in uploading! I'm returning to write the story, now I have a proper laptop for uni and writing work. Enter my new MacBook Pro, off eBay for a casual $450. She pretty af.


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